2018 FYEE Conference

Workshop: Taking it to the Next Level...Game-Based Learning in Engineering Education

Presented at Technical Session VIII

The use of games within engineering classes has steadily increased, as evidenced by increasing numbers of publications on their implementation and effectiveness. Games within engineering classes can take on a variety of different forms ranging from classroom games (board, card, live action) to digital games and even to gamification elements. In gamification implementations, faculty will leverage principles associated with game-based learning such as storyline, points, leaderboard and badges to help motivate students towards completion of classroom activities. Despite these increases in published implementations of games within engineering, there are still many faculty members that aren’t aware of this pedagogy.

This workshop will provide participants with an understanding of game-based learning and how it can be used within engineering, and will conclude with providing references to help support individuals’ use of this pedagogy. Upon completion of this session, participants will be able to:
- List the key properties of a game or game-based learning exercise
- Describe different types of games that can be applied in engineering classes
- Identify games that match specific learning objectives
- Discuss differences in facilitation approaches
- Provide ideas for debriefing questions that allow the game to be linked back to
technical content

Games and gamification implementations can be very powerful experiences for students as they provide them with an opportunity to learn experientially and then connect their time in game play back to technical course material. Research has shown that implementation of these types of activities leads to a general trend in improvement in both student attitudes and learning. As such, this workshop will provide faculty with the necessary skill sets that will allow greater use of these pedagogical tools in first year engineering classes.

Authors

Dr. Cheryl A Bodnar Rowan University [biography]

Dr. Bodnar is an Associate Professor in the Experiential Engineering Education Department at Rowan University. Her research interests relate to the incorporation of active learning techniques such as game-based learning in undergraduate classes as well as innovation and entrepreneurship.
Dr. Daniel D. Burkey University of Connecticut [biography]

Daniel Burkey is the Associate Dean of Undergraduate Programs and Professor-in-Residence in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Connecticut. He received his B.S. in chemical engineering from Lehigh University in 1998, and his M.S.C.E.P and Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2000 and 2003, respectively. His primary areas of interest are chemical vapor deposition and engineering pedagogy.
Dr. Daniel D. Anastasio Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology [biography]

Daniel Anastasio is an assistant professor at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. He received a B.S. and Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Connecticut in 2009 and 2015, respectively. His primary areas of research are game-based learn
Dr. Scott Streiner Rowan University [biography]

Scott Streiner is an Assistant Professor in the Industrial Engineering Department, teaches in the First-Year Engineering Program and works in the Engineering Education Research Center (EERC) in the Swanson School of Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh. Scott has received funding through NSF to conduct research on the impact of game-based learning on the development of first-year students’ ethical reasoning, as well as research on the development of culturally responsive ethics education in global contexts. He is an active member of the Kern Engineering Entrepreneurship Network (KEEN), the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), and serves on the First-Year Engineering Education (FYEE) Conference Steering Committee.

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