Educational effectiveness of virtual reality games promoting metacognition and problem-solving

There is an increasing awareness among engineering faculty that our students lack effective reading and problem-solving strategies, which poses significant barriers to their learning. This paper presents an approach that infuses metacognitive reading and engineering problem-solving strategies into Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) curriculum, through a series of virtual reality games. The educational process of integrating both metacognition and problem-solving in a fun learning environment is then demonstrated through a sample game, Mystery of Traffic Lights. The evaluation of its deployment in Digital I course at Rowan is also presented. The assessment confirms the utility and usability of metacognitive tools in engineering design, and also provides valuable insights for the iterative game refinementvn.