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1. Board 197: A Gamified Approach for Active Exploration to Discover Systematic Solutions for Fundamental Engineering Problems

   Ilbeigi, Mohammad; Bairaktarova, Diana; Ehsani, Romina (June 2023, 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition)

   Previous studies have convincingly shown that traditional, content-centered, and didactic teaching methods are not effective for developing a deep understanding and knowledge transfer. Nor does it adequately address the development of critical problem-solving skills. Active and collaborative instruction, coupled with effective means to encourage student engagement, invariably leads to better student learning outcomes irrespective of academic discipline. Despite these findings, the existing construction engineering programs, for the most part, consist of a series of fragmented courses that mainly focus on procedural skills rather than on the fundamental and conceptual knowledge that helps students become innovative problem-solvers. In addition, these courses are heavily dependent on traditional lecture-based teaching methods focused on well-structured and closed-ended problems that prepare students to plug variables into equations to get the answer. Existing programs rarely offer a systematic approach to allow students to develop a deep understanding of the engineering core concepts and discover systematic solutions for fundamental problems. Without properly understanding these core concepts, contextualized in domain-specific settings, students are not able to develop a holistic view that will help them to recognize the big picture and think outside the box to come up with creative solutions for arising problems. The long history of empirical learning in the field of construction engineering shows the significant potential of cognitive development through direct experience and reflection on what works in particular situations. Of course, the complex nature of the construction industry in the twenty-first century cannot afford an education through trial and error in the real environment. However, recent advances in computer science can help educators develop virtual environments and gamification platforms that allow students to explore various scenarios and learn from their experiences. This study aims to address this need by assessing the effectiveness of guided active exploration in a digital game environment on students’ ability to discover systematic solutions for fundamental problems in construction engineering. To address this objective, through a research project funded by the NSF Division of Engineering Education and Centers (EEC), we designed and developed a scenario-based interactive digital game, called Zebel, to guide students solve fundamental problems in construction scheduling. The proposed gamified pedagogical approach was designed based on the Constructivism learning theory and a framework that consists of six essential elements: (1) modeling; (2) reflection; (3) strategy formation; (4) scaffolded exploration; (5) debriefing; and (6) articulation. We also designed a series of pre- and post-assessment instruments for empirical data collection to assess the effectiveness of the proposed approach. The proposed gamified method was implemented in a graduate-level construction planning and scheduling course. The outcomes indicated that students with no prior knowledge of construction scheduling methods were able to discover systematic solutions for fundamental scheduling problems through their experience with the proposed gamified learning method. 

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2. Influence of Pedagogical Agent Deictic Gestures on Construction Management Students Learning within a 360-Degree Virtual Field Trip

   https://doi.org/10.29007/234r  

   Wen, Jing; Zalake, Shrishail; Gheisari, Masoud (January 2022, EPiC Series in Built Environment)

   Field trips are widely recognized as an essential educational component to connect classrooms with the real world. When students don’t have access to real field trips, virtual ones have been developed by educators and researchers. Pedagogical agents have been applied to serve as a tour guide and educational tool that facilitate students learning in a virtual learning environment. Such agents are computer software generated and controlled entities that replicate or emulate humans. Previous studies have found that adding anthropomorphic traits to pedagogical agents in learning environments has significantly improved students’ learning experience; however, this area has yet been explored in the context of a virtual construction field trip. In this study, a virtual field trip to a complex mechanical room was developed using 360-degree panoramas and a pedagogical agent was employed to lead the tour. This study focuses on one single anthropomorphic trait - deictic gestures, which are pointing gestures used to refer to specific objects – and explores how such trait affects students’ quantitative learning outcomes and feedbacks on four aspects of the agent, including facilitating learning, credibility, human-like, and engaging. It was found that deictic gestures can improve students’ learning performance and attitudes on multiple aspects of the agent. 

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3. Enhancing Engagement Modeling in Game-Based Learning Environments with Student-Agent Discourse Analysis

   https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-36336-8_105  

   Goslen, A; Henderson, N; Rowe, J; Zhang, J; Hutt, S; Ocumpaugh, J; Wiebe, E; Boyer, K; Mott, B; Lester, J (June 2023, Proceedings of the 24th International Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Education)

   Pedagogical agents offer significant promise for engaging students in learning. In this paper, we investigate students’ conversational interactions with a pedagogical agent in a game-based learning environment for middle school sci- ence education. We utilize word embeddings of student-agent conversations along with features distilled from students’ in-game actions to induce predictive models of student engagement. An evaluation of the models’ accuracy and early prediction performance indicates that features derived from students’ conversa- tions with the pedagogical agent yield the highest accuracy for predicting student engagement. Results also show that combining student problem-solving features and conversation features yields higher performance than a problem solving-only feature set. Overall, the findings suggest that student-agent conversations can greatly enhance student models for game-based learning environments. 

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4. Developing Math Knowledge and Computational Thinking Through Game Play and Design: A Professional Development Program.

   Smith, H. (October 2020, Contemporary issues in technology and teacher education)

   null (Ed.)

   The Game Play and Design Framework is a project-based instructional method to engage teachers and students with mathematics content by utilizing technology as a vehicle for game play and creation. In the authors’ prior work, they created a technology tool and game editing platform, the Wearable Learning Cloud Platform (WLCP), which enables teachers and students to play, create, and experience technology-augmented learning activities. This paper describes a 14-week Game Play and Design professional development program in which middle school teachers played, designed, tested, and implemented mathematics games in the classroom with their own students. Examples are included of teacher-created games, feedback from the students’ experience designing games, and evidence of student learning gains from playing teacher-created games. This work provides a pedagogical approach for educators and students that utilizes the benefits of mobile technologies and collaborative learning through games to develop students’ higher-level thinking in STEM classrooms. 

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5. Developing mathematics knowledge and computational thinking through game play and design: A professional development program.

   Smith, H. (October 2020, Contemporary issues in technology and teacher education)

   null (Ed.)

   The Game Play and Design Framework is a project-based instructional method to engage teachers and students with mathematics content by utilizing technology as a vehicle for game play and creation. In the authors’ prior work, they created a technology tool and game editing platform, the Wearable Learning Cloud Platform (WLCP), which enables teachers and students to play, create, and experience technology-augmented learning activities. This paper describes a 14-week Game Play and Design professional development program in which middle school teachers played, designed, tested, and implemented mathematics games in the classroom with their own students. Examples are included of teacher-created games, feedback from the students’ experience designing games, and evidence of student learning gains from playing teacher-created games. This work provides a pedagogical approach for educators and students that utilizes the benefits of mobile technologies and collaborative learning through games to develop students’ higher-level thinking in STEM classrooms. 

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