ESTOPA: An Innovative, Low-Cost Gamification Strategy for Developing Higher-Order Cognitive Skills

The increasing complexity of experimental sciences demands innovative teaching strategies that both facilitate conceptual learning and sustain student engagement. While gamification offers such potential, many implementations require substantial resources, limiting their adoption. This work introduces ESTOPA (Experimental Strategies, Times, and Options for Process Assessment), a low-cost, classroom-compatible gamification strategy designed to teach complex biochemical processes through collaborative, process-based reasoning. ESTOPA integrates experimental design principles, probabilistic reasoning, and sustainability content (via the Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs) within a narrative framework, promoting both disciplinary and transversal skills, such as teamwork, communication, and leadership. The activity was implemented in a third-year “Environmental Biochemistry and Biotechnology” course (N = 28, University of Córdoba, Spain). Student perceptions, collected through a ten-item survey (α = 0.82), indicated strong engagement, perceived utility, and alignment with course objectives. Additionally, a retrospective analysis of exam data across four academic years revealed a significant improvement in higher-order cognitive skills (Cohen’s d = 2.07, p < 0.01) following the ESTOPA intervention. These results suggest that ESTOPA effectively supports the development of applied and analytical thinking in biochemistry. Given its scalability, low cost, and adaptability, ESTOPA represents a valuable pedagogical approach for university science education.