STTR Phase I: Use of Serious Games to Improve Learning Outcomes in Engineering Programs

STTR 第一阶段：利用严肃游戏提高工程项目的学习成果

• 批准号: 1110223
• 负责人: Stephen Lynch
• 金额: $ 15万
• 依托单位: Toolwire, Inc
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2011
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2011-07-01 至 2012-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1110223&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: STTR; Phase; Use; Serious; Games

This Small Business Technology Transfer Phase 1 project combines the game-based learning scenario development and business entrepreneurship expertise of Toolwire Inc., with the instructional material development and evaluation expertise of the Laboratory for Innovative Technology and Engineering Education (LITEE) at Auburn University. They worked together to develop a pilot version of an engineering design Smart Scenario that included information on the Challenger STS 51-L case study. This was implemented in introductory engineering classes and an evaluation showed that the students perceived that they learned the subject matter deeply due to the gaming nature of this pilot. This evaluation reinforces results from earlier research that shows that serious games have the ability to improve student engagement, positively affect learning, and help retain students in engineering. This project will design and develop serious games in the four topics of engineering design, communications, ethics, and industrial safety for use in introductory engineering classes. These games will be implemented in introductory engineering classes. The evaluation methodology will use a Presage-Pedagogy-Process-Product-model using control and experimental classes. Data will be collected based on constructs designed to measure the variables in the 4-P model. The intellectual merit of this proposal is that it develops, implements, and tests a set of games that emphasize developing capabilities in addition to content, brings real-world problems into classrooms, uses gaming-technologies to mediate learning, includes assessment methodology in the games, and provides students multiple iterations to learn the concepts, thereby changing the approach to both teaching and learning in an introductory course.The broader impact/commercial potential of this project is its ability to directly provide massively effective parallel education in engineering by being scalable to different levels of classes, using compelling scenarios that lead to deep learning, triggering brain chemistry through games that better engages students in learning while being available anytime, anywhere through secure, web-based services. This combination of highly engaging ?active learning by doing? on advanced technology platforms achieves lower costs of delivery, greater long-term adoption of material in workforce development, improved user experiences and lower dropout rates. These serious games produce continuous experiential learning cycles for both students and teachers alike in both classroom and workplace contexts.

该小型企业技术转让第一阶段项目结合了 Toolwire Inc. 基于游戏的学习场景开发和企业创业专业知识，以及奥本大学创新技术与工程教育实验室 (LITEE) 的教学材料开发和评估专业知识。他们共同开发了工程设计智能场景的试点版本，其中包括挑战者 STS 51-L 案例研究的信息。这是在工程入门课程中实施的，评估表明，由于该试点项目的游戏性质，学生们认为他们深入地了解了该主题。这项评估强化了早期研究的结果，即严肃的游戏能够提高学生的参与度，对学习产生积极影响，并有助于留住学生在工程领域的学习。该项目将设计和开发工程设计、通信、道德和工业安全四个主题的严肃游戏，用于工程入门课程。这些游戏将在工程入门课程中实施。评估方法将使用预兆-教育学-过程-产品模型，使用控制班和实验班。将根据旨在测量 4-P 模型中变量的构造来收集数据。该提案的智力价值在于它开发、实施和测试了一套游戏，这些游戏除了内容之外还强调培养能力，将现实世界的问题带入课堂，使用游戏技术来调解学习，包括游戏中的评估方法，并为学生提供多次迭代来学习概念，从而改变入门课程的教学和学习方法。该项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力在于，它能够通过可扩展性来直接提供大规模有效的工程并行教育。不同级别的课程，使用引人入胜的场景来进行深度学习，通过游戏触发大脑化学反应，更好地吸引学生参与学习，同时通过安全的网络服务随时随地提供帮助。这种高度吸引人的“主动学习”的结合。在先进技术平台上实现更低的交付成本、在劳动力发展中更长期地采用材料、改善用户体验并降低辍学率。这些严肃的游戏为学生和教师在课堂和工作场所中创造了持续的体验式学习周期。