Serious gaming for experiential learning

In Engineering Education, the traditional process of knowledge building was based on one-way (teacher->;student) delivery of information, in classrooms. Students were passive receptors of the teacher´s messages. In the past few years, the tendency is to implement active learning paradigms where students are the focus of the educational process. The interaction between teacher and students is more dynamic, enhanced by technological tools and includes rich content and flexible activities. The integration of Virtual Environments in Engineering Education allows new and innovative learning methods and is, therefore, a contribution to these new paradigms. This article presents the instantiation of these learning methods with first year engineering students. In our study, students were involved in simulation/gaming environments related to fundamental physics learning. Afterwards their knowledge was tested and their perception of the relevance of the system was evaluated. Results show that knowledge construction was greatly enhanced and that student´s motivation for learning was increased.