2025 Volume 9 Article ID: e09033
Organic chemistry is a challenging subject for many pharmacy students. To address this issue, a mobile app called Chemical Structural Formula Karuta (hereafter referred to as the Karuta Application) incorporated gamification elements to assist learning. This study aimed to clarify the educational usefulness and areas for improvement of the Karuta Application and identify the characteristics of students well-suited to its use. First- to fourth-year pharmacy students answered questionnaires and knowledge acquisition tests and were then classified by cluster analysis based on their responses to the pre-questionnaire. The results found that the group exhibiting a high affinity for gaming, even among students who disliked organic chemistry, demonstrated high app utilization. However, student engagement did not translate into a statistically significant improvement in examination performance. These findings suggested that while the Karuta Application had the potential to enhance learning motivation, sustained learning with regular classes and periodic encouragement from educators was necessary to improve learning outcomes.
