Building on the educational benefits of computer games, which are becoming increasingly popular as a teaching tool, the UFTI’s Transportation Technology Transfer (T2) Center developed a nine-week class for middle-school-aged students using the computer game SimCityEDU (http://www.simcityedu.org/). The class aimed to foster interest in the transportation profession as a career choice, with each 45-minute module designed to teach participants about the planning and engineering concepts involved in this profession, such as design, materials, traffic mitigation, and budget management.
Leslie Washburn, P.E., and Morgan Witter, two T2 workforce development instructors, piloted this course at Jordan Glen School in Archer, Fla. from August – October 2014. The students worked in pairs to learn the best way to build their ideal city. They were exposed to computers, mathematics, urban and regional planning, and civil and transportation engineering.
The pilot was well-received and very successful, as noted by the number of students wanting to continue on with the class well after it was over, and declaring that it was their favorite elective. The students completed exit surveys and responded with positive feedback across the board, with almost all responding that they would like to take another SimCity class. In response to an open-ended question asking what they will remember most about the class, students commented on the need to “stick in there” and the “creativity needed to build a city and the wonderful learning experiences in this class.” When asked if they had any suggestions for improvement, students responded that it was perfect, as good as it could be, and that they would miss the class. Survey respondents also indicated the following: “Longer classes to be able to learn more about engineering!”
Electronic Arts, in collaboration with GlassLab, created the digital SimCity-based lesson plans to encourage students to think critically about the challenges facing modern cities. To provide this course at your own school, download the educational version of the SimCity programs at http://www.glasslabgames.org/games/SC.