Gamification
In this project we explore gamification as an innovative strategy to make the teaching of Operations Research more engaging and effective. By modifying the structure of an official class at USP (University of São Paulo), we propose a dynamic environment where students not only learn theoretical concepts but also apply them practically and interactively. Through challenges and games, we encourage collaboration and creativity, fostering a more meaningful learning experience.
During this project, I developed a board game inspired by the cradle of operations research: the Battle of Britain. Students take on the role of England’s defenders against air raids, facing a significantly bigger force and scarce resources, reflecting the real difficulties encountered during the conflict. To overcome these challenges, participants are encouraged to use operations research methods, enabling them to solve and optimize the best defense strategies. In this way, the concepts of the discipline become tangible and applicable, providing a practical and engaging learning experience. At the project I developed a board game inspired in the birth of the operational research.
BOOKING & CONTACT
I applied the project in the course and wrote an article introducing the concept to the university. Since gamification is a relatively new approach in academia, I did not have the opportunity to fully implement it in the full duration of a course to asses its outcomes or observe whether it would indeed improve student engagement and provide a more effective tool for instructors. However, from the tests conducted during the project, we obtained very positive results. Despite the complexity of the rules, we managed to engage students who, after playing the game, became interested in better understanding its rules and systems and in following its development outside of class time, demonstrating that engagement indeed increased in the small-scale applications conducted, even without the opportunity to test the gamification proposal throughout an entire course, I am pleased to have made a contribution by helping to bridge the gap between the universe of games and the university.