Department
Nursing
Location
Bethel University
Document Type
Poster
Start Date
2-25-2026 4:00 PM
End Date
2-25-2026 5:00 PM
Abstract
After several years of lower scores on the ATI proctored Pharmacology exam, the nursing department separated the pathophysiology/pharmacology course into two separate courses. Goals for the new pharmacology course included (1) focus on what entry-level nursing graduates would need to know about pharmacology to improve end-of-program testing scores and (2) engagement of the learner by scrambling the classroom and utilizing gamification for application practice. Intentional course design focused on inclusive and active teaching strategies including: consistent weekly rhythm; highly structured preparation activities (Hogan & Sathy, 2022); scrambled classroom integrating chunked lecture to explain complex concepts with active learning and gamification activities; integration of CEL (collaboration enhances learning) group learning; and after-class assignments with direct correlation with future clinical assignments. The first two cohorts to experience the new Pharmacology for Nurses course had impressive end-of-program ATI pharmacology scores increasing 5% and 4.5% from the previous cohort with a mean 6% and 3.8% above the national benchmark. Students also rated the scrambled classroom and gamification elements highly on the course evaluations with more than 90% of students agreeing or strongly agreeing that application gaming promoted learning.
Recommended Citation
Nugteren, Laura and De Haan, Julie, "Scrambling the Classroom and Gamification in Pharmacology for Nurses: Engaging the Learner" (2026). Wednesday, February 25, 2026. 2.
https://spark.bethel.edu/dayofscholarship/spring2026/spr2026/2
Terms of Use and License Information
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Included in
Scrambling the Classroom and Gamification in Pharmacology for Nurses: Engaging the Learner
Bethel University
After several years of lower scores on the ATI proctored Pharmacology exam, the nursing department separated the pathophysiology/pharmacology course into two separate courses. Goals for the new pharmacology course included (1) focus on what entry-level nursing graduates would need to know about pharmacology to improve end-of-program testing scores and (2) engagement of the learner by scrambling the classroom and utilizing gamification for application practice. Intentional course design focused on inclusive and active teaching strategies including: consistent weekly rhythm; highly structured preparation activities (Hogan & Sathy, 2022); scrambled classroom integrating chunked lecture to explain complex concepts with active learning and gamification activities; integration of CEL (collaboration enhances learning) group learning; and after-class assignments with direct correlation with future clinical assignments. The first two cohorts to experience the new Pharmacology for Nurses course had impressive end-of-program ATI pharmacology scores increasing 5% and 4.5% from the previous cohort with a mean 6% and 3.8% above the national benchmark. Students also rated the scrambled classroom and gamification elements highly on the course evaluations with more than 90% of students agreeing or strongly agreeing that application gaming promoted learning.