Mathematical Modeling Education Using an Online Serious Game

Many researchers in operations research field develop mathematical models and heuristic algorithms for solving real problems, e.g., scheduling, vehicle routing, facility layout, etc. It is common to develop methods that can guarantee to obtain good solutions within an acceptable (short) computational time. In our study, a conceptual online game is developed for supporting students that learn the mathematical modeling and heuristic algorithm development. Participants of the game are given various simple until difficult optimization problems that must be solved. The players are given scores based on the solution quality and computational time of their proposed methods. The game stores each player's model and algorithm that are shared between participants at the end of a game session to allow all participants to improve their problem-solving capabilities.