Card games are effective tools to enhance foundation year health and safety inductions

Health and safety knowledge is critical in a laboratory setting but is often taught passively. As passive learning approaches are associated with lower student engagement and subsequent attainment, higher education institutions are increasingly focussed on active learning methodologies. One such approach is the use of card-based games to gamify learning. Based on this, this study designed and evaluated three health and safety card games focussing on personal protective equipment, hazard symbols and laboratory equipment identification. Students' health and safety knowledge was evaluated using a 10-point scale before and after completion of all three games. Wider pedagogical impact on factors such as student experience, transferable skill development and gamified learning value was also evaluated using open-answer questions or a 5-point Likert scale. A total of 91 foundation year students participated in the study. Most students reported positive responses regarding their enjoyment (89.9 %) and learning (74.7 %) from the games. Students liked their design (80.1 - 91.1%) and visual appeal (82.3 - 91.1 %), considering them a valuable addition to their laboratory induction (89.9 %). Pre- and postevaluation revealed a significant increase in self-perceived knowledge of health and safety (6.4 ± 2.1 to 8.4 ± 1.5, P < 0.001), PPE (7.6 ± 2.0 to 8.7 ± 1.5, P < 0.001), laboratory hazards (6.8 ± 1.9 to 8.2 ± 1.5, P < 0.001) and laboratory equipment (6.3 ± 2.1 to 8.2 ± 1.8, P < 0.001). Stratification of participants based on socio-economic factors and university entry qualifications revealed no significant differences. These findings highlight the wide benefits of card games as active learning tools to enhance health and safety education while providing a positive and equitable student experience.