Benefits of educational games as an introductory activity in industrial engineering education

This study evaluates the use of educational games as an introductory activity in the first year of undergraduate degree programs in industrial engineering. This proposal exploit the potential use of games to present complex situations without discouraging players, allowing new students to examine important elements of the professional field. Therefore, an educational game designed for use during the first year of classes was developed. The contribution of this game proposed for student learning and motivation was evaluated using a questionnaire, as was the receptivity to the use of educational games. The results show that this activity motivated students to participate and to better understand the course content. They also indicate that educational games are well accepted by the first-year students. The following benefits of educational games as an introductory activity in higher education contribute to these results: the opportunity to present different concepts in an integrated manner, the possibility of offering a comprehensive and dynamic example that can be shared by students and professors, the greater freedom afforded to the professor for individual interaction with students and the ability to simultaneously satisfy the demand for knowledge and motivation.