Scavenger Hunt Activity to Reinforce Engineering Fundamentals

Abstract

The drawbacks of traditional content delivery methods have shown to be inadequate in students’ learning process on a particular topic, particularly in subjects that cover fundamental theories. To this end, active learning activities, specifically gamification teaching methods, have increasingly been adopted to replace or supplement traditional delivery methods as they promote students’ involvement and engagement in the learning process. This chapter describes the implementation of a scavenger hunt as a collaborative active learning (CAL) activity to promote student involvement and engagement to supplement in-class content (traditional methods) of a fundamental theory in engineering, specifically the subject area of Thermodynamics. The procedures, including planning and pre-activity, preparation and creation, and the execution of the scavenger hunt implemented, are described in detail. The scavenger hunt, as a CAL, was well perceived and is recommended for adoption in other subjects’ areas not only to improve student learning but also to increase student collaboration and engagement; however, some suggestions are recommended as precautions or improvements to ensure a smooth and effective lesson plan during the implementation of such activity for both students and educators.