Serious Games and Experiential Learning: Options for Engineering Education

Abstract

This research delves into the use of simulation games as a learning tool in logistics education, with a focus on the Logistics Simulator and Production Game Simulator. Through an analysis of these two cases, relevant findings were uncovered. Firstly, simulation games can recreate concrete experiences, allowing students to engage with challenging problems in a practical manner. In addition, simulation games offer a platform for experimentation with diverse scenarios, enabling students to hone their decision-making skills in a safe environment. Furthermore, the degree of motivation and engagement exhibited by students was found to be positively correlated with their experience gained through simulators. However, while the results obtained from the simulator were associated with student motivation and engagement, the study did not yield conclusive evidence in terms of student learning outcomes. The findings underscore the significance of employing strategies that enhance student motivation and support deep learning, thereby enabling students to apply and transfer knowledge to new situations. Notably, simulation games have great potential in logistics education as they facilitate faster and more enjoyable comprehension of key decision-making factors. Nevertheless, limitations of this study include the small sample size in both cases, which restricts generalizability, and the lack of consideration for sociodemographic factors in the baseline survey. Future research should address these limitations for more reliable findings on the specific needs of students in game-based and experiential learning contexts.

Exploring educational simulation platform features for addressing complexity in Industry 4.0: a qualitative analysis of insights from logistics experts

“…These methodologies foster critical thinking, informed decision-making, and collaborative prowess, nurturing a learner-centric paradigm that primes individuals to surmount real-world trials. This underscores simulations potential to revolutionize conventional education, equipping students to navigate the challenges that characterize the Industry 4.0 (Agarwal and Biswas, 2019;Hansen and Elbaek, 2019;Tseng et al, 2019;Bastos, 2020;Lezama et al, 2020;Sincharoenkul et al, 2020;Mahmood et al, 2021;Buzady et al, 2022;Cruz-Martínez et al, 2022;Cecchi et al, 2023;Pacheco-Velazquez et al, 2023).…”

“…Notably, the integration of Serious Games (SGs) and simulators has become a favored choice in classroom settings, as learners' participation in these games has demonstrated the ability to induce changes in their attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors (Tilvawala et al, 2019). As a result, SGs and simulators are now employed as a strategy to support learning across diverse domains, including medicine, logistics, military training, nursing, among others (Pacheco-Velazquez et al, 2023).…”

How to Create Serious Games? Proposal for a Participatory Methodology

“…Moreover, the younger generations possess distinct characteristics. Additionally, they prefer to play a more active role in their learning process, being uncomfortable with methodologies that merely involve one-way information transfer [1] [2].…”

Editorial, Vol. 10, No. 3

“…"Serious Games and Experiential Learning: Options for Engineering Education ", by Pacheco-Velazquez et al [1], delves into the use of simulation games as a learning tool in logistics education, with a focus on two cases: the Logistics Simulator and the Production Game Simulator. The findings suggest that simulation games have great potential in logistics education as they facilitate faster and more enjoyable comprehension of key decision -making factors.…”