Video based, game integrated concept tutors - Effectiveness in Freshman courses

Abstract

Many students who take Introduction to Engineering classes are freshmen and need help in learning engineering concepts. In this paper, we discuss the development, implementation, and evaluation of a video- and game-based instructional tool called a concept tutor. These concept tutors focus on one concept at a time, and they can be used as supplemental material to a lecture. These tutors provide additional help to students in explaining the concepts taught in class and reinforcing their learning. The purpose of concept tutors is to increase the undergraduate students' enthusiasm for and attention to the concepts taught using this instructional methodology. The concept tutors engage the students in a learning process meant to improve retention rate. The concept tutor consists of three phases. The first phase is definition and real-world applications of the concept. The second phase includes a step-by-step presentation of the concept in a general format that explains the concept through a targeted problem. In this phase, the concept tutor is split into topic videos. The third phase consists of assessments to measure the students' understanding of the material presented. After viewing each video, the students are required to answer a set of questions that test the concepts they learned. Students are allowed to choose the format of the test. They can choose either a regular multiple-choice assessment or a game-based assessment. Quantitative and qualitative results show that students find such materials useful; furthermore, the students preferred this method to complement a lecture. We report the development methodology of the tutor and evaluation results in this paper.