Abstract:

As a try to engage 62 students of Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Environmental Engineering in the subject “Thermal Engineering”, Game Based Learning (GBL) is a good option for achieving the following objectives: Improve the student learning with strategies used in games, calculate their knowledge level/satisfaction rate (KLSR) with this method and compare the results with Traditional Learning (TL).
The methodology followed in this case is based on game mechanics like challenges, achievements, cooperative activities, rewards, and deals, among others.

The resources of game mechanics are the following next:

1. Challenges: The challenges consist of questions and problems about the subject. Depending on the question, the winners will be the students that give the quicker or the most correct answer.
2. Leaderboard: All students appear in the leaderboard, and they are ranked by the points obtained in the game activities.
3. Points: Points are the base of the game economy and represent the students’ effort and success in the subject.
4. Badges: Students can achieve badges for doing specific activities and show them to other classmates because points are not the main point of this game.
5. Teams: To improve team spirit in the class, students can join teams and help each other.
6. Nicknames: Students can use nicknames during the game to help them to feel inside the game.
7. Gifts: As a reward for the win in the challenges, students will receive gifts that can help them giving more chances to be victorious in front of challenges.

At the end of the game, students perform two tasks: A traditional test to evaluate their knowledge about the subject unit assessed and a survey to know the satisfaction of students playing the game. The results will be used to calculate the KLSR and compared it to TL.

Keywords:

Game, Game Based Learning, Traditional Learning, Challenges, Leaderboard, Badges, Teams, Environmental, Engineering.