Enhancing engagement and collaborative creativity in health promotion education through co-creative game-based learning

This study examines the impact of a co-creative game-based learning (GBL) intervention on student engagement and collaborative creativity in a Taiwanese undergraduate health promotion course. Responding to pedagogical reforms emphasising practice-oriented competencies, the course embedded a participatory task in which students collaboratively designed educational board games targeting elementary school audiences. Quantitative outcomes included learning engagement and collaborative creativity, measured through validated scales, alongside qualitative student reflections. The results exhibited significant improvements in both engagement and collaborative creativity, with the greatest gains observed among students with lower academic standing and motivation. Qualitative data highlighted students’ enhanced capacity to translate abstract theory into accessible content, increased teamwork skills, and heightened professional identity awareness. The study contributes empirical evidence to the emerging field of participatory GBL, highlighting its effectiveness in promoting engagement, creativity, and equitable learning opportunities within competency-based health promotion education.