Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (UC): With a board game, the Millennium Nucleus of Pain seeks to promote learning of the nervous system
Taking knowledge out of laboratories and transforming it into content that facilitates learning is the challenge of Dr. Margarita Calvo at the Millennium Nucleus of Pain Studies.
“Ouch!” is a game for schoolchildren from 7th grade to 2nd grade and consists of a deck of 64 cards, among which cold, heat and mechanical stimuli are represented, along with their respective neurons. receivers. To them are added the red cards that represent the pain neuron and an Ouch! card, where all the players must get up from their seats. The dynamic is designed for two to four players, in a circuit that lasts between 15 to 20 minutes.
And it is that for some time, the Millennium Nucleus of Pain Studies, MiNuSPain, has aimed to investigate the cellular and molecular bases of pain, with special emphasis on the ion channels, receptors and signaling pathways involved in neuropathic pain. Within its objectives, it is also to socialize knowledge from the laboratories and transform it into content that facilitates active learning.
The director of MiNuSPain and academic of the Faculty of Biological Sciences UC, Dr. Margarita Calvo, explained that “the main idea is to make the learning of the sensory system entertaining, where pain is found within them, which is the subject that we investigate in this Millennium Nucleus for the Study of Pain”.
“The main idea is to make the learning of the sensory system entertaining, where pain is within them, which is the subject that we investigate in this Millennium Nucleus for the Study of Pain” – Professor Margarita Calvo, director of the Millennium Nucleus of Studies of the Pain
Academic of the Faculty of Biological Sciences Margarita Calvo, director of the Millennium Nucleus of Pain Studies, Photo Directorate of Communications UC.
good reception
The Republic of Ecuador school in Concepción was the establishment chosen to carry out the national launch of this initiative, an occasion in which the students had the opportunity to use this learning tool for the first time, whose protagonists are the characters Calorín, Fredi, Michel , Mrs. Dolores and Ariel.
“The activity was very entertaining and I feel very fortunate to be able to participate in this game, which is well designed and is very good to share with your friends,” said Luciano García, a 7th grade student. His partner, María Paz Echavarría, had a similar perception, who highlighted that “what I liked the most is that we can all socialize together, and we have a lot of fun doing it. You can learn by playing”.
“It is an excellent project. But that, in addition, the launch that has been made from the link with the public school, gives an added value to this so good “- Victoria Uribe, director of the Colegio República del Ecuador
The director of the Colegio República del Ecuador, Victoria Uribe, valued the national launch of the game from this establishment. “It is an excellent project. But that, in addition, the launch that has been made from the link with the public school, gives an added value to this so good”. She added that “the children are very happy and we appreciate that they are having equal opportunities, which is tremendously motivating because it allows them to get off the phone and interact with their classmates.”
MiNuSPain researchers called on those who are interested to download the printable and colorable version of the game that they can do through the website.
“On the website you will find very interesting documentation on how the sensory system works. That, together with the game, we believe will contribute to solidify knowledge and even motivate girls and boys to continue looking for information, fulfilling the virtuous circle of the game leading to direct learning”, stated the academic from the University of Santiago from Chile and also a MiNusPain researcher, Dr. Rodolfo Madrid.
Dr. Margarita Calvo will be very soon in a new cycle of talks on scientific dissemination in conjunction with the Museum of Science and Technology (Mucytec)