Search for: All records

Simulation can be employed as an interactive computer game to enable game-based learning. Educational simulations can also be combined with immersive technologies such as virtual reality (VR) to enhance student engagement and learning. While recent years have seen significant growth in the use of immersive technologies in education, the role and contribution of the additional immersion offered by VR still needs to be explored. This paper aims to address this gap by comparing low- and high-immersion modes for a simulation game to familiarize students with the fundamental concepts of mathematical optimization. The game resembles performing a heuristic search on the solution space for an optimization problem and involves finding the highest peak in an arctic landscape. Our research experiments include three groups of students who play the game either in VR, desktop mode, or PowerPoint slides. Our statistical comparisons show that VR enhanced students' sense of presence and learning. 

With the increasing use of virtual simulated environments and immersive technologies in STEM education and workforce training, it is becoming increasingly important to study and understand how learners’ interactions and navigation in virtual environments affect their learning and skill development. In this paper, we quantify and assess the effect of learners’ navigation in an immersive simulated environment on learning outcomes, where navigation is characterized by the total time spent in the simulation and time allocations to different areas within the virtual environment. We implement a set of immersive simulation-based learning (ISBL) modules in an undergraduate computer science course with eighteen students and record their screen as they navigate in the simulation environment to perform the tasks needed to complete the ISBL assignments. We use a video analytics tool to process and analyze the videos and collect statistics related to a set of navigation-related measures for each student. We also use surveys to collect data on students’ demographics, prior knowledge and experience, personality, experiential learning, and self-assessment of learning. We then perform a set of multivariable regression analyses to characterize and explain the relationship between navigation measures and constructs assessed via survey instruments to determine how/if users’ navigation in the simulated environment can be a predictor of their learning outcomes. The results indicate that the total time spent in the simulation and the distribution of time allocations among different areas within the simulated environment are predictors of experiential learning and students’ self-assessment of learning. 

Besides its use as a powerful systems analysis tool, simulation has also been used for decades in educational settings as a teaching and learning method. Simulation can replace or augment real-world inquiry-based experiences by providing learners with a low-cost and risk-free experimentation platform to develop knowledge and skills in a simulated environment. This paper presents an overview of current applications and the ongoing transition from physical experimentation to digital simulations and immersive simulated learning environments in engineering education. The paper highlights major implementation and research gaps related to simulation-based learning and immersive simulated learning environments, namely, lack of integration with learning theories and limited formal assessments of effectiveness. Potential implementation approaches and important areas for future educational research are discussed and exemplified in response to the identified gaps. The discussions presented are intended for simulationists, educational researchers, and instructors who are interested in designing and/or utilizing engineering education interventions involving simulated learning environments and immersive technologies in their teaching and educational research. In particular, the Immersive Simulation-Based Learning (ISBL) approach discussed in the paper provides a framework for simulationists to reuse the models developed as part of their simulation projects for educational purposes. 

There is a cohesive body of research on the effectiveness of problem-based learning (PBL) for a wide range of learner groups across different disciplines in engineering education. On the other hand, there is a growing interest in using immersive technologies such as virtual reality (VR) in engineering education. While there are many literature review articles on each of these subjects separately, there is a lack of review articles on the application of combined PBL-VR learning environments in engineering education. This paper provides an assessment of the applications and potential of implementing immersive technologies in a PBL setting to utilize the advantages of both paradigms. More specifically, this paper aims to provide insights related to two main questions: (1) where (in what disciplines/subjects) PBL and VR have been used together in engineering education? And, (2) how are VR and PBL integrated and used in engineering education? The first question is investigated by performing a bibliometric analysis of relevant papers published in the proceedings of previous ASEE annual conferences. The second question is explored by performing a literature review and classification of ASEE papers that discuss the use of VR in conjunction with PBL. Our findings reveal a gap between the application of integrated PBL and VR across different disciplines in engineering education. We also analyze the trends related to PBL and VR application in engineering education over time. Finally, we identify and propose future opportunities related to the combination of PBL and immersive technologies, including but not limited to immersive simulation-based learning (ISBL) and incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) into immersive virtual/simulated learning environments used in engineering education.