Combining Discrete-Event Simulation with the Metaverse to Motivate Students in Higher Education

Due to the new generation of students who are digital natives, professors have to re-imaging the teaching-learning process to be more attractive to them. Thus, online learning has become an integral part of the teaching-learning process in higher education. The Metaverse in an educational context is boosting more strength due to the creation of 3D virtual spaces, asynchronous self-directed training, interaction through avatars, and no limit of time. The metaverse motivates students to learn Science, Technology, and Engineering in a different environment than a traditional classroom. We created a virtual classroom in the Metaverse to teach Discrete-Event Simulation (DES) to Industrial and Systems Engineers students. The virtual space consists of videos, self-directed practices, and other types of materials to enhance the teaching-learning process of DES. A control group formed of 28 students with a traditional teaching-learning process was considered, and a group formed of 25 students where the virtual lab was implemented as the main teaching-learning tool. To measure the impact of this educational innovation, we implemented two evaluation instruments. The first was an exam that evaluated the learning level through a comparative statistical analysis, in which we used a Mann-Whitney test to compare the medians between groups. The second instrument was the MUSIC® inventory model of Motivation, which measures the students' motivation and engagement related to five components: empowerment, usefulness, success, interest, and caring. The MUSIC model evaluates 26 items using a 6-point Likert-type scale. The results show that the virtual lab improves the students' motivation to learn simulation models in a three-dimensional environment and thereby improves their learning experience.