(1875) SIMULATION-BASED LEARNING: AN INTERACTIVE TOOL TO INCREASE THE STUDENT MOTIVATION IN HIGHER EDUCATION

摘要

Most science and engineering educators believe that the laboratory experience is a necessarycomplement rather than passive activities like reading textbooks and listening to lectures;;this series ofactivities constitute a large part of the available time. Nowadays the learning methods at universitiesare under a constant review process. Applications focused in simulation-based learning allow tospeed-up the learning process;;this facilitates the design and implementation of active resources in theclassroom. The incorporation of active-collaborative methodologies such as: Project-based Learning,Hands-on Laboratory, Simulation-based Learning, Learning by-doing, Experience-based Learning…allows that the student should reach a much more significant learning assuming, in turn, theresponsibility of his own learning. Motivation is essential in the teaching of various knowledgedisciplines, especially the associated with the Electrical, Electronics and TelecommunicationEngineering.Simulation-based Learning (SbL) is a very effective idea for students to acquire knowledge, if they arewell motivated. Although this learning model it is not new;;it integrates the advantages of e-learningmethod (multimedia resources, interactive simulations) with some aspects of traditional method (faceto-face interaction). In this case, the low cost of the multimedia elements not only allow enhancelearning activities, but also help to the student to learn in an entertaining way. Laboratories have acrucial role in the education of future engineers, yet there is disagreement among educators aboutwhich types of labs technology must be used, e.g. real, on-line or virtual technology. Thus simulationbasedlearning allows the students to develop the ability to solve problems and apply knowledge,which is difficult to obtain otherwise. Moreover, it has been shown that these types of activities areimportant in the educational context on physics and engineering topics. In addition in this past decade,several studies have shown that educational computer games can enhance learning performance.The incorporation of simulation software allows students checking the operation of devices easily. Soit is possible to contrast the behaviour of systems without having to make their assembly. Thesesimulation tools have become in important educational resources, resulting in the emergence of thesimulation-based learning concept. Calculation, estimation and model development are activities thatstudents can do outside the classroom, so that is optimized class time.In this paper is presented the educational innovation experience based in active-collaborative activitiesrealized during the academic year 2014/15. This educational context has provided us the opportunityto introduce this type of methodologies and teaching tools to engineering students;;being possible toverify qualitatively and quantitatively if they contribute a substantial change in the teaching-learningprocess. It is also necessary to indicate the importance of the ICT's (Information and CommunicationTechnologies) in the university classroom and their possibilities to develop new manners of learning,e.g. “to learn to learn”. The current trend to complemented face-to-face classes with web-basedresources allows to improve the traditional form of learning. Information obtained throughquestionnaires, has revealed the involvement grade and attitude rank of students towards the learningprocess. Student satisfaction with simulation-based learning was checked through questions related toaspects of the scheduled activities. Students prefer procedures teaching-learning more dynamic,flexible, participatory and with continuous evaluation, although his general impression is that needmore dedication. The results show that the effectiveness and level of global satisfaction of thestudents during the development of this educational experience has been high.