Using Kahoot! as a formative assessment tool in medical education: a phenomenological study

BACKGROUND: Gamification is an increasingly common phenomenon in education. It is a technique to facilitate formative assessment and to promote student learning. It has been shown to be more effective than traditional methods. This phenomenological study was conducted to explore the advantages of gamification through the use of the Kahoot! platform for formative assessment in medical education. METHODS: This study employed a phenomenological design. Five focus groups were conducted with medical students who had participated in several Kahoot! sessions. RESULTS: Thirty-six categories and nine sub-themes emerged from the focus group discussions. They were grouped into three themes: attractive learning tool, learning guidance and source of motivation. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that Kahoot! sessions motivate students to study, to determine the subject matter that needs to be studied and to be aware of what they have learned. Thus, the platform is a promising tool for formative assessment in medical education. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s12909-019-1658-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.