Metacognitive learning : skills development through gamification at the Stellenbosch Learning Factory as a case study

Date
2017
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Southern African Institute for Industrial Engineering
Abstract
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: South Africa has a high-cost, low-performance education system, which ultimately leads to unemployment and a skill shortage in the country. In order to bridge the skill shortage gap at a tertiary level, the Stellenbosch Learning Factory (SLF) was established. Learning factories involve experiential learning in a production environment through ‘learning by doing’. Gamification, one of the teaching methods used in the SLF, is investigated as a possible answer to South Africa’s educational problems. Learning factories can be used to train employees: the knowledge transfer resulting from real production conditions is favoured because process improvements can be implemented or practised without any real production downtime. The aim of this study was to determine the learning contribution of the games implemented at the SLF. This was accomplished by developing a three-dimensional matrix that employs a revised version of Bloom’s taxonomy to measure the learning success of the educational games at the SLF.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Suid-Afrika het ’n hoë koste, lae uitkoms onderwysstelsel, wat bydra tot die werkloosheid en die tekort in vaardigheid in die land. Om die vaardigheidsgaping op ’n tersiêre vlak te oorbrug, is die ‘Stellenbosch Learning Factory’ (SLF) gestig. Leer fabrieke behels eksperimentele onderrig in ’n produksie omgewing deur gebruik te maak van ’n ‘leer deur doen’ benadering. ‘Gamification’, een van die onderrigmetodes wat gebruik word in die SLF, word ondersoek as ’n moontlike verbetering op die onderrig probleem in Suid-Afrika. Leer fabrieke kan gebruik word om werknemers op te lei, omdat die kennisoordrag wat ontstaan vanuit die werklike produksietoestande bevoordeel word, aangesien prosesverbeteringe implementeer en beoefen kan word sonder onderbreking van produksie. Die doel van hierdie studie was om die leerbydrae van die opvoedkundige speletjies wat geïmplementeer is by die SLF te bepaal. Dit is bereik deur die ontwikkeling van ’n drie-dimensionele matriks wat die hersiende weergawe van Bloom se taksonomie gebruik om die leersukses van die opvoedkundige speletjies by die SLF te bepaal.
Description
CITATION: Henning, M., Hagedorn-Hansen, D.& Von Leipzig, K. 2017. Metacognitive learning : skills development through gamification at the Stellenbosch Learning Factory as a case study. South African Journal of Industrial Engineering, 28(3):105-112, doi:10.7166/28-3-1845.
The original publication is available at http://sajie.journals.ac.za
Keywords
Education system, Metacognition -- Learning, Skills -- Development, Gamification
Citation
Henning, M., Hagedorn-Hansen, D.& Von Leipzig, K. 2017. Metacognitive learning : skills development through gamification at the Stellenbosch Learning Factory as a case study. South African Journal of Industrial Engineering, 28(3):105-112, doi:10.7166/28-3-1845