2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Statics has long been recognized as a challenging course for college students, often associated with low engagement and poor performance. This study aims to address these challenges by developing a gamified learning experience designed to increase motivation and improve understanding of key concepts. The purpose of this project is to evaluate whether interactive gameplay can increase student motivation and understanding when compared to traditional teaching methods.

The method of gamification used was a story-based video game. As the students progress through the story, they will come across four puzzles centered around fundamental topics from Statics. The first level introduces a friction problem focused on utilizing their understanding of capstans to lift a door. The second level explores frames and machines. The third level involves truss analysis, challenging the students to find the force in a member to fix a broken bridge. The fourth and final level requires students to create a shear diagram of a simply supported beam holding up the final treasure chest along with the maximum moment. Each level provides real-time feedback: a deduction of coins when the student enters the wrong answer, and an award of 10 coins for the correct answer. The coins are used to place the students on an anonymous leaderboard between peers, which is shown at the end.

Participants will be chosen via a convenience sample of Statics students. Quantitative data, including in-game accuracy and time spent per question, will be used to measure performance, while qualitative survey data will capture student perceptions of engagement, enjoyment, and perceived learning. The collected data will be analyzed to assess whether gamified learning can serve as an effective means of teaching Statics.