Project-Based Simulation Games as Effective Tools in Education of Inexperienced Construction Students

This paper reports on the results of testing a virtual project-based simulation game, called Skyscraper Simulator, as an effective learning tool in educating undergraduate construction students either with or without previous experience in construction. The results point to some interesting findings regarding different perceptions of learning gains between experienced and inexperienced participants. This game puts the players in a virtual construction environment by simulating a skyscraper construction project from the beginning to the end. The quantitative method is used in this research study to measure the perception of construction knowledge gained. After completing the game, a questionnaire which measures retrospective pre and post playing perception of six main construction areas was filled by 135 undergraduate construction students with or without prior experience in construction. The results show there is a significant difference between the perception of participants in pre and post playing learning gain for all of the areas. Moreover, the difference for inexperienced participants is higher than those of their experienced counterparts. The research results indicate that a virtual project-based simulation game can improve the construction knowledge of undergraduate construction students especially those with no previous experience in construction. Accordingly, such games can be uses as effective tools in construction education.