Research Initiation Grant: Investigating the use of Simulation and Gaming in Sustainable Energy Education

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This engineering education research initiation grant will allow the research team--consisting of engineers, computer scientists, and educational psychologists--to explore using serious electronic games to teach engineering students the concepts of system design in a context of sustainable energy. The research team will use affordance theory to guide the development and measure the impact on student learning in two different environments.The broader significance and importance of this project will be to inform the design of alternative educational methods that can be widely applied both in the engineering classroom and to better inform a broad section of society about the choices and tradeoffs associated with sustainable energy. The proposed educational medium has the potential to reach a broad cross-section of students, many who are in groups currently under-represented in STEM disciplines. This project overlaps with NSF's strategic goal of transforming the frontiers through preparation of an engineering workforce with new capabilities and expertise. Additionally NSF's goal of innovating for society is enabled by building the capacity of the nation's citizenry for addressing societal challenges through engineering.