Nikolic, Dragana, Department of Architectural Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, USA; Lee, Sanghoon, Department of Architectural Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, USA; Messner, John I., Department of Architectural Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, USA; Anumba, Chimay, Department of Architectural Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, USA

Educating and training students in the architecture, engineering and construction disciplines is challenging. Building and infrastructure projects are becoming ever more complex, necessitating more efficient construction processes to meet increasingly strict cost, time, quality and sustainability requirements. Engineering education that teaches students the dynamic processes inherent in building construction focuses mainly on lectures and case studies supplemented with field trips to construction sites that, while valuable, are often challenged by logistics, safety, and sufficient time for students to witness various construction stages and complexities. An evolving area of research explores the use of educational computer simulations to enhance construction engineering education and facilitate the development of student problem solving and decision making skills. One current education development initiative at our university, the Virtual Construction Simulator (VCS), explores the value of simulation games in teaching construction concepts such as scheduling, resource management and resource allocation. The VCS is an interactive simulation game developed and implemented in Spring 2010 that engages students in an experiential simulation environment where they plan and develop a construction schedule for a virtual building, make decisions regarding construction methods, resources, and activity sequences, and simulate the construction schedule. We have found that by moving through this virtual stepping process, students assume a more active role in learning the differences between as-planned and as-built construction schedules that result from the factors such as weather, method, and labor productivity. The researchers assessed the educational value of the VCS through pre- and post- surveys and a student exercise conducted in an introductory course to building and construction management in Spring 2010. Initial results demonstrate the merit of the VCS simulation game as a motivational and engaging learning tool for engineering construction education. This paper discusses the development, implementation, and pedagogical value of the VCS simulation game as a complement to traditional methods for teaching construction

engineering education; construction management; simulation; w078; game theory

2010

Rotterdam (Netherlands)

English

, (),

in-house publishing

approx. 10 p.

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