Evaluation of the learning effectiveness of game-based and hands-on gear train laboratories

Recently, academic institutions have started to explore the potential of commercially available multiplayer computer game engines for the development of virtual environments for instructional purposes. This trend is motivated by the fact that many students are highly accustomed to and knowledgeable about playing electronic and computer games. Computer games share a number of potential characteristics with effective instructional tools and therefore have a great potential for positively affecting learning. Achieving a sense of immersion by the students and interactive collaboration among them are two of the main goals being pursued in exploring new types of educational laboratories as alternatives or complements to traditional hands-on experiments. A scripted scenario for a game-based gear train laboratory exercise was implemented in `ME 358 Mechanisms and Machine Dynamics', a junior-level course for mechanical engineering majors at Stevens Institute of Technology (SIT). This paper discusses the learning assessment conducted in that implementation. The results are presented for two assessment studies comparing versions of game-based gear train experiments to workbook-based gear train experiments with a `hands-on' laboratory experience. The results suggest that the students learned the concepts addressed by the laboratory content better in the game-based condition and that they had a realistic understanding and appreciation of the practical advantages of game-based gear train experiments over more traditional learning experiences. In addition, a questionnaire was administered to the students and then analyzed in order to obtain further insights into the students' opinions about and attitudes toward the game-based laboratory approach.