Academic integrity serious game: the role of professional values

Academic integrity is a fundamental pillar of academia internationally. Dishonest behaviour is of particular concern to degrees that prepare students for professional practice such as nursing. Universities need to take a proactive approach to preparing undergraduate students to balance their university academic workload, alongside other pressures such as work-integrated learning. An educational approach to promoting good academic practice is essential early in programmes of study. This is of relevance to nursing where students enter the workplace in the first year of study. Therefore, this study co-designed

and evaluated a serious game with first year students in a Northern Ireland university, that promoted academic integrity in line with disciplinary professional values. The game enables students to engage with scenarios, quizzes and resources on professionalism, academic offences, study skills and feedback. The evaluation used a mixed-methods methodology that included a learning questionnaire (MLSQ)(n=233), followed by focus groups (n=39) with first year undergraduate nursing students. The serious academic integrity game significantly improved students’ motivation to learn about academic integrity. Further, students articulated how they were able to make the link between professional values and academic integrity after playing the game.