Using Board Puzzles to Teach Operations Research
Gail W. DePuy - depuy@louisville.edu
Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky 40292G.
Don Taylor - don.taylor@vt.edu
Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Virginal Polytechnic Institute and State University,Blacksburg, Virginia 24061
Abstract
Engineering design is a difficult task. Designers work at the boundaries between physical laws, societal or governmental regulations, the need for efficiency, and the desire to develop creative or aesthetic solutions. Teaching engineering design is therefore a difficult task. How is it possible to stimulate students to think of creative solutions while adhering to established principles and necessary rules? Certainly, it is important for students to have deep-seated roots in engineering fundamentals. These fundamentals include both a strong overall engineering core and coursework specific to the particular branch of engineering study undertaken by the student. For industrial engineers, the study of operations research is fundamental in preparing them for careers in engineering design. This paper addresses one way of encouraging creativity in teaching operations research in industrial engineering design curricula. Specifically, this paper provides examples of the use of games as pedagogical tools in teaching operations research. These games cannot be used as a substitute for teaching practical applications, but they are excellent supplementary tools that encourage students to tackle highly structured problems creatively while working on interesting and enjoyable tasks. Four examples are provided within the paper.
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Citation Information
DePuy, G. W., G. D. Taylor. 2007. Using Board Puzzles to Teach Operations Research. INFORMS Trans. Ed. 7(2) 160-171. Available online at http://ite.pubs.informs.org/.DOI: 10.1287/ited.7.2.160