In undergraduate transportation engineering courses, traffic assignment is a difficult concept for instructors to teach and for students to learn because the concept involves advanced mathematical modeling and computations. A multiplayer game, called multiagent route choice, is designed to engage students in making route choices so that they can visualize how traffic gradually reaches a user equilibrium. In addition, the Braess paradox phenomenon, a concept not generally taught in undergraduate transportation courses, is embedded in the game for students to explore. A before-and-after comparison and a case–control study are performed to evaluate the effectiveness of the game as a curriculum tool. The impact of students' learning preferences is also investigated.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
MillsJ. E., and TreagustD. F.. Engineering Education: Is Problem-Based or Project-Based Learning the Answer?Australasian Journal of Engineering Education Vol. 3, No. 2, 2003.
2.
GredlerM. E.Educational Games and Simulations: A Technology in Search of a (Research) Paradigm. In The Handbook of Research for Educational Communications and Technology (JonassenD. H., ed.), Simon and Schuster Macmillan, New York, 1996, pp. 521–540.
3.
EbnerM., and HolzingerA.. Successful Implementation of User-Centered Game Based Learning in Higher Education: An Example from Civil Engineering. Computers & Education, Vol. 49, No. 3, 2007, pp. 873–890.
4.
LiaoC.-F., LiuH. X., and LevinsonD. M.. Simulating Transportation for Realistic Engineering Education and Training: Engaging Undergraduate Students in Transportation Studies. In Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, No. 2109, Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, Washington, D.C., 2009, pp. 12–21.
5.
ChenW., and LevinsonD. M.. Effectiveness of Learning Transportation Network Growth Through Simulation. Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice, Vol. 132, No. 1, 2006, pp. 29–41.
6.
ZhuS., XieF., and LevinsonD. M.. Enhancing Transportation Education Through Online Simulation Using an Agent-Based Demand and Assignment Model. Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice, Vol. 137, No. 1, 2011, pp. 28–45.
7.
HuangA., and LevinsonD.. To Game or Not to Game: Teaching Transportation Planning with Board Games. In Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, No. 2307, Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, Washington, D.C., 2012, pp. 141–149.
8.
BraessD.Ber ein Paradoxon aus der Verkehrsplanung. Unternehmensforschung, Vol. 12, 1969, pp. 258–268.
9.
MahmassaniH. S., and StephanD. G.. Experimental Investigation of Route and Departure Time Choice Dynamics of Urban Commuters. In Transportation Research Record 1203, TRB, National Research Council, Washington, D.C., 1988, pp. 69–84.
10.
MahmassaniH. S., and LiuY.-H.. Dynamics of Commuting Decision Behaviour Under Advanced Traveller Information Systems. Transportation Research Part C, Vol. 7, No. 2–3, 1999, pp. 91–107.
11.
RapoportA., KuglerT., DugarS., and GischesE. J.. Choice of Routes in Congested Traffic Networks: Experimental Tests of the Braess Paradox. Games and Economic Behavior, Vol. 65, No. 2, 2009, pp. 538–571.
12.
SchneiderK., and WeimannJ.. Against All Odds: Nash Equilibria in a Road Pricing Experiment. In Human Behaviour and Traffic Networks, Springer, Berlin, 2004, pp. 133–153.
13.
SeltenR., SchreckenbergM., ChmuraT., PitzT., KubeS., HafsteinS. F., ChrobokR., PottmeierA., and WahleJ.. Experimental Investigation of Day-to-Day Route-Choice Behavior and Network Simulations of Autobahn Traffic in North Rhine–Westphalia. In Human Behavior and Traffic Networks.Springer, Berlin, 2004, pp. 1–21.
14.
KolbD. A.Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development.Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, N.J., 1984.
15.
ManneringF., and WashburnS.. Principles of Highway Engineering and Traffic Analysis, 5th ed.John Wiley & Sons, New York, 2012.
