Journal of Research in Innovative Teaching - National University

Expert Problem Solving in a Manufacturing
Virtual World Simulation
John L. Elson, Clark Mount-Campbell, and David D. Woods
Abstract
Engineering educators are calling for developing new research methods and methodologies that will increase the
expertise and knowledge of engineering graduates. Virtual world simulations have become the state of the art of
simulating real-world experiences. This paper provides an overview of simulations used in education and in
particular those being used in engineering education. Since there has been no use of simulations in industrial
engineering in the classroom or in research, this paper tests the hypothesis that experts will perform significantly
better than novices on a simulated real-world task in a manufacturing scenario involving use of industrial
engineering knowledge. Teams of experts and novices were studied through their verbal protocols and process traces
as they interacted to search for causes and possible alternatives to solve the problem of customer order backlog.
Team behavior was compared to a canonical solution and differences between experts and novices statistically
determined. Experts were found to perform significantly better than novices in the simulated environment. Possible
reasons are discussed as well as directions for possible future research.
Key Words
Virtual word simulation, expertise, industrial engineering
Introduction
Engineering educators are looking for ways to increase levels of expertise (Journal of
Engineering Education, 2006) and deliver education that will meet the needs of the engineer of
2020 (National Academy of Engineering, 2004). One of the current primary thrusts of
engineering education is problem-based learning (Rover, 2007; Prince & Felder, 2006), and one
methodology that fits this thrust is the virtual world simulation. Simulations have long been used
in research, and Ward, Williams and Hancock (2006) provide an overview of the past and
current uses. Recently simulations have been used in engineering education (Hodge, Hinton, &
Lightner, 2001; Campbell et al., 2002; Alexander & Smelser, 2003; Dessouky et al., 2001;
Mackenzie et al., 2001; Harmon et al., 2002; Davidovich, Parush, & Shtub, 2006). And in
business education, simulations are now taking a premier spot: Harvard Business School
Publishing (2008) shows four virtual world simulations on their website that were released in
2008. However, little research if any has been done in the area of industrial engineering (IE)
education and the use of simulations.
Elson, Mount-Campbell, and Woods (2007) have provided an overview of expertise and
simulations and recommend a research agenda for developing simulations in IE education. Elson
(2008) used a virtual world simulation in the classroom to teach engineering ethics in an
engineering management course. Following up on these two research efforts, this paper reports
on research that focuses on comparing expert and novice problem-solving behavior using a
virtual world simulation with an IE manufacturing scenario and problem. The primary purpose is
to verify that the simulation (test problem) is a good representation of a real-world problem
situation (target problem) by studying the problem-solving behavior of both novices and experts.
The results show this to be the case, and we make recommendations for further research on how
to employ simulations in teaching IE problem solving.
144