Introduction : One of the active and enjoyable approaches to learning and teaching is the use of educational games, which can lead to changes in students’ behavior and academic performance. Therefore, this study aimed to design and implement the Water Quality Management course in the Environmental Health Engineering program using a pantomime-based educational game and to evaluate its effect on students’ learning and satisfaction compared with the traditional teaching method (instructor-led lecture).
Materials&Methods: This quasi-experimental study was conducted during the academic years 2023–2024 at the School of Health, North Khorasan University of Medical Sciences, Bojnurd, Iran. The study participants were fifth-semester Environmental Health Engineering students from two consecutive semesters who were enrolled through census sampling and assigned to an intervention group (pantomime-based educational game) and a control group (traditional lecture-based teaching). Data were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire consisting of 20 questions assessing and comparing the characteristics of pantomime-based educational game teaching with traditional lecture-based teaching. Data were analyzed using SPSS software, descriptive statistics, the independent t-test, and the chi-square test.
Results:The results showed that the mean score of students in the intervention group (pantomime-based teaching; n = 10), with a mean ± standard deviation of 18.69 ± 3.28, was significantly higher than that of the control group (lecture-based teaching; n = 10), with a mean ± standard deviation of 14.45 ± 2.97. In addition, students overall evaluated the pantomime-based teaching method more favorably than the lecture method. The survey results indicated that 79.5% of the students were satisfied with this teaching method and believed that it had enhanced their knowledge and learning. Furthermore, the mean student satisfaction score was higher in the intervention group than in the control group.
Conclusion:The findings indicated that the implementation of this educational approach had a positive effect on students’ mean scores, knowledge acquisition, satisfaction, and enjoyable learning experience. It is recommended that faculty development programs be provided to familiarize academic staff with the application of educational games in educational settings.

Acknowledgments:The authors would like to express their sincere gratitude to all students and colleagues who contributed to the implementation of this study and supported the research team throughout the project. This study was conducted as part of a scholarly research project that was selected as a distinguished teaching and learning process in the 1402 Vahid Festival at Bojnurd University of Medical Sciences.

Availability of data and materials:The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are not publicly available due to privacy and confidentiality considerations but may be obtained from the corresponding author upon reasonable request and subject to the applicable ethical requirements.

Conflicts of interest:The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Consent for publication:Not applicable. No individual personal data or identifiable information are presented in this manuscript.

Ethical approval and consent to participate:This study was conducted in accordance with the ethical principles governing research involving human participants. Ethical approval was obtained from the Ethics Committee of Bojnurd University of Medical Sciences (IR.NKUMS.REC.1403.178). Given the direct academic relationship between the researchers and the participating students, particular attention was paid to protecting participants' privacy and maintaining the confidentiality of the collected information. Participation was voluntary, and the collected data were analyzed and reported anonymously.The study was conducted in accordance with the ethical principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki.

Funding:This study was financially supported by the Deputy of Research and Technology of North Khorasan University of Medical Sciences under research project No. 4030211.

Authors’ Contributions: N. Asadzadeh: Conceptualization, methodology, study design, data collection and processing, data analysis and interpretation, writing – original draft, critical review and editing, and finalization of the manuscript.M. Moradi: Conceptualization, methodology, data analysis and interpretation, writing – original draft, critical review and editing, and finalization of the manuscript.M. Ghorbanian: Conceptualization, methodology, data analysis and interpretation, writing – original draft, critical review and editing, and finalization of the manuscript.N. Firouzeh: Conceptualization, methodology, data analysis and interpretation, writing – original draft, critical review and editing, and finalization of the manuscript.All authors: Reviewed and approved the final version of the manuscript and agreed to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

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