Innovation in teaching and learning: Gamification toward enhancing the performance of entrepreneurial skills and leadership skill in pharmacy student

Abstract

Introduction

Entrepreneurship and leadership are essential skills for pharmacy students, yet traditional lecture-based methods may not effectively develop these competencies. Gamification, an innovative teaching approach, has been underutilized in pharmacy education for non-pharmaceutical skills. This study employed gamification to enhance entrepreneurship and leadership skills among fifth-year pharmacy students at Silpakorn University, Thailand.

Objective

To (1) assess students' self-efficacy in entrepreneurship and leadership, and (2) evaluate student satisfaction and perceived benefits of Shark Tank-inspired gamification.

Methods

An exploratory post-then-pre-assessment was conducted with 65 students (76.9 % response rate). The survey included 18 statements on entrepreneurship and leadership self-efficacy. Students also rated overall skills and satisfaction with the gamified learning environment. Descriptive statistics and paired t-tests were performed using IBM SPSS Statistics version 20.

Results

The observations indicate improvements in entrepreneurship and leadership skills (p < 0.01). Overall, post-gamification assessments showed mean scores of 4.04 ± 0.96 for entrepreneurship and 4.08 ± 0.85 for leadership, respectively. Students expressed high satisfaction with the learning environment, noting freedom and a relaxed setting (4.32 ± 0.81), teamwork-based activities (4.20 ± 0.82), and supportive advisor motivation (4.20 ± 0.98). Key perceived benefits included enhanced creativity through group work (4.32 ± 0.95), exposure to diverse pharmacy models (4.30 ± 0.85), and improved understanding of pharmacy management content and presentation skills (4.28 ± 0.92).

Conclusion

This study highlights the effectiveness of gamification in building critical non-pharmaceutical skills in pharmacy education. Key success factors include immersive world-building, structured gamified simulations, and personalized feedback.