Effectiveness of gamification and game-based learning in Spanish adolescents with dyslexia: A longitudinal quasi-experimental research.

BACKGROUND: Gamification and game-based learning can provide motivating learning opportunities. The scientific literature suggests that these play strategies could be supportive tools for the learning of students with diagnosed dyslexia. AIMS: This study compares the effectiveness of an educational gamification and game-based learning (GBL) methodology versus a transmissive methodology for the improvement of reading processes and academic performance in the subject of Spanish Language and Literature in Spanish high school students with dyslexia. METHODS AND PROCEDURES: Longitudinal quasi-experimental research was conducted with control and experimental groups. Ninety students with a mean age of 14.22 years (SD = 0.95) participated in the study. The assessment instruments used were the PROLEC-SE reading process assessment battery and academic performance through subject grades. The intervention with the experimental group consisted of gamification and GBL of 15 one-hour sessions in which students' oral and written skills were worked with playful learning strategies. OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: The results indicate that the experimental group had statistically significant improvement in their reading skills (η2g = 0.616) and academic performance, albeit less in pseudoword speed, compared to the control group (η2g = 0.197). CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS: The study highlights the usefulness of gamification and GBL as practical tools for meaningful learning in students with dyslexia.

Patient-derived tumor models in cancer research: Evaluation of the oncostatic effects of melatonin.

The development of new anticancer therapies tends to be very slow. Although their impact on potential candidates is confirmed in preclinical studies, ∼95 % of these new therapies are not approved when tested in clinical trials. One of the main reasons for this is the lack of accurate preclinical models. In this context, there are different patient-derived models, which have emerged as a powerful oncological tool: patient-derived xenografts (PDXs), patient-derived organoids (PDOs), and patient-derived cells (PDCs). Although all these models are widely applied, PDXs, which are created by engraftment of patient tumor tissues into mice, is considered more reliable. In fundamental research, the PDX model is used to evaluate drug-sensitive markers and, in clinical practice, to select a personalized therapeutic strategy. Melatonin is of particular importance in the development of innovative cancer treatments due to its oncostatic impact and lack of adverse effects. However, the literature regarding the oncostatic effect of melatonin in patient-derived tumor models is scant. This review aims to describe the important role of patient-derived models in the development of anticancer treatments, focusing, in particular, on PDX models, as well as their use in cancer research. This review also summarizes the existing literature on the anti-tumoral effect of melatonin in patient-derived models in order to propose future anti-neoplastic clinical applications.

Shall we play together? Game-based learning for engagement and classroom climate in Spanish socially deprived communities.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to analyze the effects of a game-based learning (GBL) program on the classroom climate and engagement of high schools in socially deprived communities in Spain. Methods: The study included 277 students from two secondary schools located in Southern Spain, situated in Zones in Need of Social Transformation. Sampling was non-probabilistic and accidental, based on the accessibility of the school and the willingness of the management and teaching staff to participate in the GBL program. The study employed a control group and two experimental groups (cooperative games group only and cooperative and competitive games group) to compare pre-test and post-test data in both groups. The Brief Class Climate Scale and Engagement Inventory, validated in academic literature, were used as assessment instruments. Results: The study used a series of ANOVA tests to compare the experimental groups with the control group. The results indicated statistically significant changes in all study variables. In all cases, the experimental groups demonstrated greater benefits than the control group. Discussion and conclusion: The study findings reveal that games can provide significant benefits to students, regardless of whether they are cooperative or competitive. The study provides evidence of the benefits of GBL in high schools located in socially deprived communities in Spain.

Game-Based Learning and Service-Learning to Teach Inclusive Education in Higher Education.

This study evaluates the impact of game-based learning (GBL) and Service-Learning on the flow and engagement of teacher education students. A quasi-experimental between-group comparison design with pre-test and post-test measures was conducted with a sample of 113 students majoring in childhood education. The results indicate that the experimental group statistically significantly improved their flow and engagement scores compared to the control group. It is concluded that the GBL and SL methodology in initial teacher training allows students to learn about inclusive education in a motivating way and to design different strategies and resources that they will be able to use in their professional future.

A Web-Based Escape Room to Raise Awareness About Severe Mental Illness Among University Students: Randomized Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND: People with severe mental illness (SMI) face discriminatory situations because of prejudice toward them, even among health care personnel. Escape rooms can be a novel educational strategy for learning about and empathizing with SMI, thus reducing stigma among health care students. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to examine the effect of the Without Memories escape room on nursing students' stigma against SMI. METHODS: A pre- and postintervention study was conducted with a control group and an experimental group. A total of 306 students from 2 Andalusian universities participated in the study. Data were collected through a pre-post study questionnaire, consisting of an adapted version of the Attributional Style Questionnaire and a questionnaire on motivation for cooperative playful learning strategies. The control group carried out an escape room scenario without sensitizing content, whereas the experimental group carried out an escape room scenario on SMI, with both escape rooms being carried out in a 1-hour session of subjects related to mental health. To answer the research questions, a 2-way analysis of variance with repeated measures, a linear regression, and a 2-way analysis of variance were performed. RESULTS: After the intervention, a significant reduction (P<.001) was observed in the experimental group in stigmatizing attitudes compared with the control group, in which no statistically significant changes (P>.05) were observed. In contrast, the linear regression (t195=-22.15; P<.001) showed that there was an inverse relationship between flow and the level of reduced stigma. When controlling for having or not having a close relative, the intervention was also shown to be effective (P<.001) in reducing the stigma displayed, both for people with affected and unaffected relatives. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that the Without Memories escape room can be used as an effective tool to educate and raise awareness about stigmatizing attitudes toward SMI in university students studying health care. Future testing of the effectiveness of educational escape rooms should be designed with new programs through playful strategies of longer duration to evaluate whether they can achieve a greater impact on motivation, acquisition of knowledge, and awareness. In addition, the feasibility of implementing the Without Memories escape room in other careers related to health and community should be investigated.

Acquisition of Learning and Empathy Towards Patients in Nursing Students Through Online Escape Room: An Exploratory Qualitative Study.

BACKGROUND: Currently, there are still prejudices and negative beliefs towards people with severe mental disorder. The stigma of healthcare professionals can affect both recovery time and patients' own self-stigma. In universities, it is necessary to reduce these prejudices through training on mental health. PURPOSE: The purpose of this research has been to assess the use of educational escape rooms as a learning and awareness strategy on stigmatizing attitudes towards people with serious mental disorders in university students. METHODS: An online escape room has been designed whose narrative shows the daily life of a person with a serious mental illness. An exploratory qualitative study has been carried out to explore the perception of 44 university students from two Andalusian universities about this escape room. RESULTS: The results of the study show that most of the interviewed students consider that the educational escape room has been a fun and motivating learning strategy, which has allowed them to learn cooperatively and empathize with the protagonist with a mental disorder. CONCLUSION: Online escape rooms can be a useful strategy for teaching health sciences students. Considering it a fun activity, students are more participatory and engaged to the curricular content, in our case, stigmatizing attitudes towards people with serious mental disorders.

Testing the Factorial Validity of the Classroom Engagement Inventory with Spanish Students.

INTRODUCTION: The purpose of the study was to test the factorial validity of Classroom Engagement Inventory of Wang, Bergin and Bergin with Spanish high school students. METHODS: In this study, 546 students participated (mean = 13.27, standard deviation = 0.629), from several high schools in Andalusia. To analyze the psychometric properties of the scale, several analyses were carried out. RESULTS: The results offered support for the five-factor structure. The analysis of invariance with respect to gender showed that the factor structure of the questionnaire was invariant. The Cronbach alpha values were higher than 0.70 in the subscales. DISCUSSION: The results of this study demonstrated the reliability and validity of the Spanish version of the Classroom Engagement Inventory with high school students.

Escape Rooms as a Learning Strategy for Special Education Master's Degree Students.

Escape rooms and breakout are learning strategies that can facilitate motivation of learning through challenges. In these strategies, students must work as a team and use their reasoning, knowledge, and skills to solve puzzles and challenges related to the content of the curriculum, allowing them to solve the game in a limited time. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of the implementation of an escape room on classroom flow, academic performance, school motivation, and prosocial and antisocial behaviours with higher students in a Special Education master's degree course. The quantitative results show a significant improvement in classroom flow, academic performance, and classroom climate, and a better score in prosocial and antisocial behaviours. The qualitative findings provide a better understanding of these results, and support the conclusion that the use of escape rooms is fun and motivating for students, and facilitates their learning achievement.

Melatonin Enhances Cisplatin and Radiation Cytotoxicity in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma by Stimulating Mitochondrial ROS Generation, Apoptosis, and Autophagy.

Head and neck cancer is the sixth leading cancer by incidence worldwide. Unfortunately, drug resistance and relapse are the principal limitations of clinical oncology for many patients, and the failure of conventional treatments is an extremely demoralizing experience. It is therefore crucial to find new therapeutic targets and drugs to enhance the cytotoxic effects of conventional treatments without potentiating or offsetting the adverse effects. Melatonin has oncostatic effects, although the mechanisms involved and doses required remain unclear. The purpose of this study is to determine the precise underlying mitochondrial mechanisms of melatonin, which increase the cytotoxicity of oncological treatments, and also to propose new melatonin treatments in order to alleviate and reverse radio- and chemoresistant processes. We analyzed the effects of melatonin on head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) cell lines (Cal-27 and SCC-9), which were treated with 0.1, 0.5, 1, and 1.5 mM melatonin combined with 8 Gy irradiation or 10 µM cisplatin. Clonogenic and MTT assays, as well as autophagy and apoptosis, involving flow cytometry and western blot, were performed in order to determine the cytotoxic effects of the treatments. Mitochondrial function was evaluated by measuring mitochondrial respiration, mtDNA content (RT-PCR), and mitochondrial mass (NAO). ROS production, antioxidant enzyme activity, and GSH/GSSG levels were analyzed using a fluorometric method. We show that high concentrations of melatonin potentiate the cytotoxic effects of radiotherapy and CDDP in HNSCC, which are associated with increased mitochondrial function in these cells. In HNSCC, melatonin induces intracellular ROS, whose accumulation plays an upstream role in mitochondria-mediated apoptosis and autophagy. Our findings indicate that melatonin, at high concentrations, combined with cisplatin and radiotherapy to improve its effectiveness, is a potential adjuvant agent.