Simulating Classrooms: Experience With Agent-Based Models in Engineering Education

Abstract

In this paper, we share our experiences applying agent-based modelling (ABM) to engineeringeducation problems. ABM is a well-established modelling approach that has been successfully applied to a range of natural science, engineering science, and social science problems. However, its application to the scholarship of teaching and learning is in the early stages. The examples in this paper focus on two general areas: (1) teaching and learning, and (2) academic administration. We follow an established ABM framework to describe how each model was approached and how the models differ from each other. Our experience has been that ABM offers a promising tool for engineering education researchers, particularly as an early “prototyping” tool when designing an engineering education study.