Abstract
Background: Acquisition of knowledge and skills by agriculture students prior to real-life experience is a well-known educational challenge. Game-based learning has the advantage of being active, experiential, and problem-based, and provides immediate feedback. Simulation games are widely used in other fields to support traditional teaching methodology and actively engage students. This study investigates whether a digital pig farm game can assist agriculture students in acquiring knowledge and skills in farrowing management to reduce mortality in piglets prior to weaning. Results: Overall the simulation group tended to score higher; however, at 5% confidence level, the difference was not significant. The simulation group had the lowest standard deviation which to some extent was due to reduced number of low-scoring students. Nevertheless, students requested more digital simulation for learning and practicing skills. Conclusion: The use of game-based learning in agricultural education has a huge potential for building skills needed on a real pig farm. However, an increase in knowledge related to farrowing management was not documented. The integration of game-based learning into an educational setting needs further evaluation.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 28 |
| Journal | Porcine Health Management |
| Volume | 4 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| ISSN | 2055-5660 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2018 |
Keywords
- Agriculture
- Animal welfare
- Digital simulation
- Game-based learning
- Piglet mortality