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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This content will become publicly available on June 25, 2024
Virtual Reality: A Learning Tool for Promoting Learners’ Engagement in Engineering Technology
Engineering education aims to create a learning environment capable of developing vital engineering skill sets, preparing students to enter the workforce and succeed as future leaders. With all the rapid technological advancements, new engineering challenges continuously emerge, impeding the development of engineering skills. This insufficiency in developing the required skills resulted in high regression rates in students’ GPAs, resulting in industries reporting graduates’ unsatisfactory performance. From a pedagogical perspective, this problem is highly correlated with traditional learning methods that are inadequate for engaging students and improving their learning experience when adopted alone. Accordingly, educators have incorporated new learning methodologies to address the pre-defined problem and enhance the students’ learning experience. However, many of the currently adopted teaching methods still lack the potential to expose students to practical examples, and they are inefficient among engineering students, who tend to be active learners and prefer to use a variety of senses. To address this, our research team proposes integrating the technology of virtual reality (VR) into the laboratory work of engineering technology courses to improve the students’ learning experience and engagement. VR technology, an immersive high-tech media, was adopted to develop an interactive teaching module on hydraulic gripper designs in a VR construction-like environment. The module aims to expose engineering technology students to real-life applications by providing a more visceral experience than screen-based media through the generation of fully computer-simulated environments in which everything is digitized. This work presents the development and implementation of the VR construction lab module and the corresponding gripper designs. The virtual gripper models are developed using Oculus Virtual Reality (OVR) Metrics Tool for Unity, a Steam VR Overlay utility created to make visualizing the desktop in a VR setting simple and intuitive. The execution of the module comprises building the VR environment, designing and importing the gripper models, and creating a user-interface VR environment to visualize and interact with the model (gripper assembly/mechanism testing). Besides the visualization, manipulation, and interaction, the developed VR system allows for additional features like displaying technical information, guiding students throughout the assembly process, and other specialized options. Thus, the developed interactive VR module will serve as a perpetual mutable platform that can be readily adjusted to allow future add-ons to address future educational opportunities.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2204919
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10446716
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- ASEE annual conference exposition
- ISSN:
- 2153-5965
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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