Virtual Booth

Plant biochemistry and environmental stress underpin agricultural development, ecological conservation, and biotechnological innovation. However, their abstract concepts of natural product chemistry is difficult to be conveyed through conventional lecture and textbook delivery, resulting in reduced engagement and limited knowledge retention. This project introduces Phytolics, an educational card game developed to strengthen students' understanding of phenolic compounds, herbal plant species, and environmental stress conditions through game-based learning. The deck comprises 15 Phytolics herb cards bearing phenolic classifications such as flavonoids, tannins, and phenolic acids; nine environmental stress cards representing agricultural stresses including drought, heat, cold, radiation, and pathogen attack; and 20 energy cards. Players analyse a stress card and match it with select the appropriate herb card as a counter-treatment. The winner is determined based on the star value of the matching treatment and natural product classification, which requires strategy. Learning efficacy was evaluated using a pre-test and post-test design with twenty-one students. Gains were normally distributed (Shapiro–Wilk W = .94, p = .20), and a paired-samples t-test indicated significant improvement, t(20) = 9.23, p < .001, with a mean gain of 3.95 points (95% CI [3.06, 4.85]). A Wilcoxon signed-rank test confirmed this result as a robustness check (W = 0, p < .001). Effect sizes were exceptionally large (Cohen's dz = 2.01; dav = 2.42), and the normalised (Hake) gain of 0.65 falls within the medium-to-high range characteristic of effective active learning. Nineteen of twenty-one students improved and two remained unchanged, indicating consistent gains across the cohort rather than improvement driven by outliers. Future development encompasses expanded plant species and difficulty tiers, alongside digital versions supporting remote and hybrid learning. Phytolics therefore offers an affordable, scalable, and empirically validated tool for advancing botanical and biochemical literacy in schools and universities.