PREreview of FROM ROUTINE TO PLAYFUL: ENHANCING VIROLOGY TEACHING WITH SCIENCE FICTION AND GAMIFICATION

This review is the result of an in-person collaborative review discussion organized and hosted by the School of Information Sciences, Global Education and Training, and Intensive English Institute as part of the Bolashak Fellowship Program 2024-2025 at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The discussion was held on March 11, 2025 and joined by 28 people:  4 facilitators - Janaynne, Wendy, Ivan, and Lisa, and 24 Bolashak fellows. We thank all participants who contributed to the discussion and made it possible for us to provide feedback on this preprint.

Summary paragraph

The main  goal of this research is  to explore the efficiency of the  more  engaging  and interactive  approach to teaching  virology, using elements  of  science fiction and  gamification as  methodological  tools. The authors address the research question(s) by using a learning experiment that has practical relevance and it includes a qualitative method (which is exploratory in nature), a quantitative method (obtaining accurate data about students, through recording the results of the research (hypothesis, observation, experimentation, conclusion). The sample for the research involved 20 high school  students and employs an experimental and qualitative methodology that integrates science fiction with active learning strategies to teach virology concepts. The approach involves using a fictional video as an educational tool, combined with interactive activities to assess student engagement and comprehension of the content.

One of the main findings of the study is that 95% of the students approved the teaching approach applied by the authors. In addition, the study showed that using science fiction makes virology lessons easier to understand, more fun, effective, and increase student interest, comprehension, and participation in class. In short, the main findings of the study likely highlight the positive impact of integrating science fiction and gamification into virology teaching. We particularly appreciated seeing how the combination of science fiction and gamification techniques can serve as effective alternatives to traditional teaching methods.

The study can expand the  knowledge in the field of education and pedagogy by discussing new techniques and technologies to teach complex topics and can open up  methodological opportunities for qualitative and quantitative study of pedagogical innovative approaches from an interdisciplinary perspective. One main strength of the study is its innovative integration of gamification and science fiction, which successfully increased student engagement and comprehension. The strengths also  include explaining the learning benefits of gamification and its relevance to virology, as well as interpreting the integration of science fiction with gamification to position it as an effective alternative to traditional teaching methods. One 

weakness is the small sample size, which limits the generalizability of the findings. In this sense, further development and testing with larger participant groups are needed to refine and expand the methodology. For some participants of this review, the research includes sufficient methodological details, and for other participants the manuscript does not provide sufficient detail to allow full reproduction and validation of the study.  Although we recommend this manuscript for publication, we have some suggestions on how to improve the author's work.  These suggestions are described below and indicated as minor issues.

Minor issues

• Concerns with methods/data

  • The study lacks a control group, making it difficult to determine whether the improvement in learning outcomes was due to the new methodology or other factors. Additionally, while the qualitative approach captures student perceptions, a more rigorous analysis with statistical comparisons and a larger sample size would strengthen the validity of the findings.e effectiveness of a new teaching methodology. 

  • The new methodology motivates students to learn and arouses interest, on the other hand, it is necessary to think about the use of other approaches to obtain an effective result in the assimilation of the material.

  • The study involved only 20 students, and it may not represent the broader population of high school students, limiting the generalizability of the findings.  The small sample size and lack of statistical analysis reduce the robustness of the conclusions, while the data were largely interpreted accurately and supported by participant feedback.

  • The study relies heavily on self reported data which can introduce bias. While high engagement is a positive outcome, objective measures would strengthen the conclusion.

  • Giving detailed information about the materials of the research would be clearly presented if  the selection criteria and principles of  fictional video to combine with active methodology had been presented.

  • Conclusions can be improved by supporting obtained data, including numbers. The conclusion does not show the numerical results.

  • The data shows a modest improvement in student engagement but the conclusions claim a “revolutionary transformation”, this would be an overreach. We agreed that conclusions are supported by the data showing positive feedback and effective outcomes. However, the study’s small sample size of the group suggests results could be more nuanced. Larger studies and further testing are needed to strengthen the conclusions. 

  • The chart data does not show any improvement in student performance, but the findings state "transformation" which only speaks of positive results during this study.  We believe that the conclusion can be strengthened by incorporating the data collected, especially by presenting numerical results. Without these figures, the conclusion lacks concrete evidence to support its claims. 

  Concerns with techniques/analysis

  • The work does not provide a detailed analysis of the research methodology, specific methods of data analysis, which makes it difficult to understand the quality of the research. And a small group of 20 students does not show the overall picture in the questionnaire and survey. Providing additional information would have revealed important points of the study and revealed small details.

  •  The abstract lacks sufficient detail on the study's methodology, such as the content of the questionnaires, criteria for assessment, and specific data analysis techniques, making reproduction difficult. Providing more information on these aspects would improve the study's transparency and allow for better validation.

  Concerns with figures and tables

  • The quality of figures 1-3 can be improved, some unnecessary parts have to be trimmed. Charts are of good quality. Tables can be revised for better understanding. 

  • The tables and figures can be improved. Manuscript figures are blurred and not clearly shown. The tables are very simple, other tools could have been used and can be revised for better understanding.  For example, In table 1 (page 12) could be shortened by grouping the answers into no, yes and little because a specific, clarifying question was asked. Grouping in this way will be more understandable for readers.

  • The figure includes too many elements such as multiple overlapping lines, excessive text into tables. Design reduces the readability and impact of the table, making it harder for readers to understand the data in the table and draw conclusions. In addition, In the manuscript, the used figures, diagrams and tables are heavily crowded, so we suggest the authors reduce the number of figures and tables. 

  Concluding remarks

  We recommend this manuscript for publication because the integration of science fiction and gamification into virology teaching is creative and has the potential to transform how complex subjects are taught. We learned from this manuscript a new teaching method to be applied in our own class, and we would bring to our own practice the study on how integrating elements of science fiction with dynamic, interactive teaching strategies can significantly increase students' interest and comprehension, especially in subjects that are traditionally less engaging.

  We believe that the manuscript reflects different approaches to solving the identified problem, demonstrates the author’s deep knowledge and ability to carry out research work and draw well-founded conclusions. The results can directly benefit society by offering solutions to problems.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.