GerenciObras: Student Engagement and Satisfaction in an Extended Reality Game for Lean Construction Education

Abstract

Traditional Lean Construction education in civil engineering often struggles with student engagement due to its abstract nature. A survey of 102 students confirmed this, revealing dissatisfaction with conventional methods (42.2%) and a strong demand for more practical (77.5%) and motivating (60.8%) learning experiences. To address this engagement gap, this paper presents the development and evaluation of “GerenciObras,” a multi‐user, gamified Extended Reality (XR) serious game designed to teach the identification of non‐physical Lean wastes. The tool employs an asymmetric pedagogical model, where one student in VR (Investigator) collaborates with a team observing on a shared screen. An exploratory case study ( n  = 5) was conducted to assess the tool's reception. Qualitative observations revealed a significant shift from student passivity during a traditional lecture to active, spontaneous collaboration and high behavioral persistence and engagement during the game. These findings were supported by quantitative data, which showed exceptionally high user satisfaction (M = 4.80/5.00 for stimulating interest; M = 5.00/5.00 for improving understanding). This study presents preliminary evidence for “GerenciObras” as a successful proof‐of‐concept, demonstrating that an asymmetric XR simulation is a viable and effective strategy for overcoming the affective and motivational barriers in teaching complex engineering management topics.