Use of a Driving Simulator to Enhance Learning Experience of Undergraduates in Highway Design

Cernusca, Dan; Bham, Ghulam · 2020 · Crossref

DOI: 10.18260/1-2--22165

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Summary

This paper presents an exploratory study investigating the integration of a driving simulator into an undergraduate Transportation Engineering course to enhance student engagement and learning outcomes in highway design. The research was motivated by the need to address the characteristics of the "Net Generation" of students, who require engaging, technology-rich, and immersive learning contexts to maintain motivation. Specifically, the authors sought to overcome student disengagement in mandatory courses not directly related to their major, where traditional design tasks involving horizontal and vertical alignments were often perceived as vague and challenging. By introducing a virtual reality tool, the study aimed to provide a concrete understanding of how design quality impacts driver comfort and safety, thereby stimulating active learning. The study involved eighteen junior and senior civil engineering students at the Missouri University of Science and Technology during the fall 2011 semester. The instructional design incorporated the driving simulator at two critical stages of a semester-long team project focused on redesigning a highway segment: before and after the completion of the vertical alignment design phase. Students participated in virtual drives simulating three vertical curves with varying design qualities (bad, decent, and good). Data were collected via entry and exit surveys administered immediately after each simulation. The surveys included Likert-scale questions assessing perceptions of the simulator’s engagement, effectiveness, and motivational value, as well as assessment questions requiring students to evaluate the quality of the simulated designs. Quantitative analysis utilized paired samples t-tests, while qualitative data were gathered through open-ended responses regarding design improvements and simulator utility. The results indicated that students’ perception of the driving simulator as an engaging tool increased significantly from the pre- to post-design phases, with a 17% gain in engagement ratings. While perceived effectiveness for testing and analyzing design also improved, only the engagement metric showed statistical significance. Conversely, the simulator was rated as less effective for motivating learning, likely because it was used as a context-generating activity rather than fully integrated into the design process. Crucially, students’ ability to evaluate the quality of vertical alignments improved significantly after completing the design project. The mean evaluation score rose from 34.3% to 53.7%, a statistically significant increase supported by qualitative evidence showing that students could articulate specific design flaws, such as steep grades and short curve lengths, after the instructional intervention. The study concludes that incorporating a driving simulator as a virtual reality tool can significantly enhance student engagement and provide valuable formative feedback in highway design education. This approach is particularly beneficial for mandatory courses where student motivation may be low. The findings suggest that simulators can help students connect theoretical design equations with practical driving experiences, improving their ability to assess design quality. The authors recommend future research to explore the complete integration of simulators as required tasks within design projects to further enhance performance and learning experiences.

Key finding

Integrating a driving simulator into undergraduate highway design instruction significantly increased student engagement and improved their ability to evaluate the quality of vertical alignments.

Methodology

simulator

Sample size: 18

Provenance

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Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-10; verification: verified.

Topics

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• simulator training transfer
• simulator validity fidelity
• simulator sickness
• road geometry

Information type

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• Applied Guidance: countermeasure evaluation
• Methodological Resource: tool software, validation psychometrics