Student Engagement and Learning Outcomes Across Two Modalities for an Online Industrial and Systems Engineering Educational Game

Abstract

Background: Effective experiential learning activities increase student engagement, which is considered a strong predictor of student learning. With the prominence of distance learning, instructors are increasingly interested in experiential learning activities that are effective for multiple modalities. Although previous studies have highlighted the effectiveness of online educational games, few studies have evaluated the effectiveness of different modes of delivery for engineering-focused experiential learning games. Purpose: Evaluate student engagement and learning outcomes of an online educational game and compare two modalities, in-person versus remote. Methods: A randomized experimental design in which teams of students are randomly assigned to participate in playing the game either in an in-person or a remote setting. Students completed surveys (n = 122) to assess emotional, physical, and cognitive engagement both during the game and a regular class. To assess learning outcomes, students completed pre-game and post-game quizzes (n = 123). Results: Student emotional, physical, and cognitive engagement scores increased when playing the game, compared to traditional class sessions. For the two modalities, emotional, physical, and cognitive engagement scores showed no significant differences, except emotional engagement did not significantly increase for the remote group. In addition, scores from pre-game and post-game quizzes showed statistically significant improvement for both modalities. Conclusions: The online experiential learning activity is effective at improving both student engagement and learning, regardless of modality. There are benefits from employing experiential learning activities and games into the classroom of either a remote or in-person modality. Consideration should be taken regarding emotional engagement for remote learning.