Interactive learning through gaming simulation in an integrated land use-transportation planning course

Abstract

The paper describes the use of gaming simulation in the teaching of integrated land use–transportation planning as a part of an undergraduate civil engineering course. A key innovation of the UPTown game developed at the University of Pretoria, South Africa, is the way in which the actions of both public-sector planners and private-sector real estate developers are simulated by students. This allows students to explore the problems of conflicting objectives and to discover the value of cooperative planning in the land use and transportation development process. The paper describes the background to and rationale for an integrated planning course, and it explains the game and simulation aspects in detail. Assessment of student performance showed that the game significantly enhanced the achievement of learning outcomes. Students who faced more complex and open-ended tasks performed better, reaching higher levels of competence earlier on in the game. The paper should be of value to educators who wish to develop new approaches, such as gaming simulation, to respond to contemporary engineering students’ preferences for more active and social learning styles.