Educational use and motivational elements of simulation games for mining engineering students: a phenomenological study

2020-07-01
Sevim-Cirak, Nese
Yıldırım, Zahide
This phenomenological study investigates mining engineering students' game playing experiences for educational purposes and seeks to understand the essence of their experiences. In this study, three non-gamer and three-gamer mining engineering students were selected through a criterion sampling method, and then data were collected through in-depth phenomenological interviews and focus group interviews. The study showed that visualisation, learning by doing and motivation were the common themes for the benefits of the use of games in education, whereas addiction, underestimation and time management emerged as the possible problems. Motivational elements were found to be challenge, curiosity, control, information seeking, observation, assessment, hypothesis building and decision making that shaped the participants' experiences. However, games' effect changed based on the personal characteristics and interests of the students. It can be claimed that the findings of this study indicate promising results in the use of games in mining engineering education.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING EDUCATION

Suggestions

The impact of computer games on students' motivation
Üçgül, Memet; Çağıltay, Kürşat; Department of Computer Education and Instructional Technology (2006)
This study investigates the impact of computer games on students’ motivation. A computer game was created for this study by using Tomb Raider 4 Level Editor. The game covers photosynthesis, vitamins, carbohydrates, proteins and fat subjects of 5th grade science and technology course. Data was collected from 71 5th grade students of three primary schools. Students have played the game until the end of lesson than they were asked to complete The Instructional Materials Motivation Survey (IMMS). The study reve...
Learners’ perceptions of a web based course : a case study
Güler, Melek; Karaaslan, Hasan; Department of Computer Education and Instructional Technology (2006)
This study investigated the students’ perceptions about a web based course. Their perceptions about course materials, level of communication, online course support, and satisfaction were discussed in this study. In this case study, Information Technology in Education II (CEIT 112), an undergraduate course at the department of Computer Education and Instructional Technology (CEIT), Middle East Technical University (METU) at 2004/2005 spring semester was taken into investigation. Totally 34 1st year CEIT stud...
Design and development issues for educational robotics training camps
Ucgul, Memet; Çağıltay, Kürşat (Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2014-05-01)
The aim of this study is to explore critical design issues for educational robotics training camps and to describe how these factors should be implemented in the development of such camps. For this purpose, two robotics training camps were organized for elementary school students. The first camp had 30 children attendees, and the second had 22. As a research methodology, a multiple-case design approach was used. Interviews with children and instructors, observations, field notes, and camp evaluation forms w...
Exploring prospective secondary mathematics teachers' interpretation of student thinking through analysing students' work in modelling
Kabar, Makbule Gözde Didiş; Erbaş, Ayhan Kürşat; Çetinkaya, Bülent; Çakıroğlu, Erdinç; Alacacı, Cengiz (Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2016-09-01)
Researchers point out the importance of teachers' knowledge of student thinking and the role of examining student work in various contexts to develop a knowledge base regarding students' ways of thinking. This study investigated prospective secondary mathematics teachers' interpretations of students' thinking as manifested in students' work that embodied solutions of mathematical modelling tasks. The data were collected from 25 prospective mathematics teachers enrolled in an undergraduate course through fou...
Building structure design as an integral part of architecture: A teaching model for students of architecture
Uenay, Ali Ihsan; Oezmen, Cengiz (Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2006-09-01)
This paper explores the place of structural design within undergraduate architectural education. The role and format of lecture-based structure courses within an education system, organized around the architectural design studio is discussed with its most prominent problems and proposed solutions. The fundamental concept of the current teaching model in the Middle East Technical University (Ankara, Turkey) is quite appropriate for the education of future architects. If we consider that the main occupation o...
Citation Formats
N. Sevim-Cirak and Z. Yıldırım, “Educational use and motivational elements of simulation games for mining engineering students: a phenomenological study,” EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING EDUCATION, pp. 550–564, 2020, Accessed: 00, 2020. [Online]. Available: https://hdl.handle.net/11511/41925.