Teaching dynamic systems and control with a video game

Dynamic Systems and Control is one of the most difficult courses to teach in the mechanical engineering curriculum. The subject is very mathematical and the mathematical framework is unfamiliar to novice students. Recently we began using a video game to demonstrate and teach content of the course. The game provides a natural way to align instruction with constructivist theories on how people learn. Herein, we describe the game and present preliminary results demonstrating its effectiveness.