Journal of Engineering Education Transformations

Abstract

It is difficult to keep learners engaged in the classroom. Teachers need to innovate new ways to keep them active. The most common pedagogic methods require learners to be familiar with course terminologies and phrases. They may even require indepth knowledge of the concepts at times. However, a small number of pedagogic techniques have been developed to ensure that learners understand basic terminologies and phrases, and the relationships between them. This paper fills that gap by introducing a novel game-based pedagogic technique. Findings based on scores of participating and non-participating learners show that participating learners understood the important terminologies, phrases, and their relationships in the courses very well. The nonparticipating learners had difficulty remembering the relationships between terminologies. Experiments have shown that when innovative learning methodologies are used in the classroom, learners understand the important words and concepts better. ANOVA one-factor test suggests that learners have benefitted from this game-based pedagogic approach. It was discovered that gamification aids learners in remembering and relating terminologies and phrases. This method has resulted in better teamwork and comprehension. Gaming, as a pedagogic technique, to learn a course helps build creative, ingenious and pioneering thinking. It builds critical-thinking abilities among learners.

Keywords: Active learning, engineering education, game-based pedagogic technique, gamification, innovative teaching-learning