Measuring the Learning Effectiveness of Serious Gaming for Training of Complex Manufacturing Tasks

摘要

Background. Training new workers on complex manufacturing tasks has longrnbeen a challenge for high value manufacturing companies. Equipment downtime,rncostly instructors, and dangerous working environments are some of thernimpediments of hands-on training. To overcome these hurdles, a traditionalrnmanufacturing paper manual was transformed into a serious game throughrncapturing and embedding expert knowledge.rnAim. This article investigates the learning effectiveness of learning via a seriousrngame (Training Game) compared with the tradition learning method (PaperrnManual) through a user study.rnMethod. Twenty employees took part in a randomised controlled trial. They werernassigned to one of two conditions: Training Game (experimental condition), orrnPaper Manual (control condition). Participants spent a maximum of 30 minutesrnto study manufacturing instructions before completing two tests to evaluaternthe amount of learning achieved.rnResults. The results show that the Training Game was more effective forrnlearning procedural knowledge than the Paper Manual. Regarding factualrnknowledge, no significant difference was identified between the two conditions. In terms of motivation, increased engagement levels were reportedrnin the Training Game condition.rnConclusions. This user study shows evidence that the serious TG being evaluatedrnis an effective method for training procedural knowledge in a complexrnmanufacturing scenario.