Innovative pedagogical 'game design/creation' methodology for sustainability education

Abstract

An innovative Game Design/creation/play Methodology (GDM), developed through our research on the HP Catalyst Grant project, in conjunction with International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) and Sloan Consortium (SLOAN-C), was introduced in the graduate Sustainability Management program courses. This was a pilot to study GDM's impact on student learning, motivation, creativity, engagement, innovation, team interactions, instructor leadership, and how they all contributed towards the Course Learning Outcomes (CLO). GDM was introduced in two different courses in MS Sustainability Management program: SUS601 Introduction to Sustainability and SEM608 Sustainable Buildings. These student-built games were closly tied to and demonstrate the CLOs. This paper presents examples of instructor and student designed & developed games covering various sustainability concepts. The results from this pilot study are encouraging as the specific feedback from students has indicated that the game GDM is a useful innovative pedagogical tool that does promote student engagement, motivation and learning skills. In addition, this innovative teaching tool should help change the declining and waning interest in STEM+ programs. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2013.