The emergence of transformative technological advances in science and engineering practice has necessitated the integration of these advances in engineering classrooms. In this paper, we present the design and implementation of a virtual reality game system that infuses cyberinfrastructure (CI) learning experiences into the Project-Lead-The-Way (PLTW) pre-engineering classrooms to promote metacognition for science and engineering design in context. The CI features, metacognitive strategies, context-oriented approaches as well as their seamless integration in the game system are elaborated in detail through two game modules, Power Ville and Stability. Both games involve students in the process of decision-making that contributes to different aspects of city infrastructures (energy and transportation). The evaluation of Power Ville deployment in a PLTW classroom is also presented. The preliminary assessment confirms the usability of CI and metacognitive tools in science and engineering design.
Recent years have witnessed a growing interest in interactive narrative-based serious games for education and training. A key challenge posed by educational serious games is the balance of fun and learning, so that players are motivated enough to unfold the narrative stories on their own pace while getting sufficient learning materials across. In this chapter, various design strategies that aim to tackle this challenge are presented through the development of Sustain City, an educational serious game system that engages students, particularly prospective and beginning science and engineering students, in a series of engineering design. Besides narrative-learning synthesis, supplementing the player's actions with feedback, and the development of a sufficient guidance system, the chapter also discusses the integration of rigorous assessment and personalized scaffolding. The evaluation of Sustain City deployment confirms the values of the serious games in promoting students' interests and learning in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields.
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