Serious Sustainability Challenge Game to Promote Teaching and Learning of Building Sustainability

Abstract

This paper presents ongoing research aimed at improving building sustainability education through the use of serious games. With the growth of the population worldwide and the increased demand on resources, there has been a growing emphasis on sustainable buildings. As architects, engineers and construction professionals are educated for the future, the complex area of building sustainability must be included in the curriculum; however, the literature shows no clear consensus on teaching methods or curriculum design. Growing evidence suggests that computer games could be effective tools in construction education as they can provide students with both theoretical and applied knowledge. In this paper we describe the development and initial evaluation of a serious game for learning sustainable building design principles and practices. The game is aimed at undergraduate students enrolled in Civil Engineering, Architecture and Building Construction Management programs. Findings from a formative study with 17 students and three faculty show that the game was perceived as usable, engaging and useful for learning/teaching building sustainability. Results of a summative study with 42 undergraduate students show that playing the game led to an increase in subjects’ declarative knowledge by 22% and procedural knowledge by 37%. Compared with traditional learning methods, playing the game led to significantly higher procedural knowledge gains, whereas gains in declarative knowledge were not significantly higher.