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Collaboration and emotions during simulation-based learning in general management courses
Abstract
Simulation-based learning (SBL) as a learner-centred educational approach fosters students‘ experiential learning by providing authentic tasks in a real-world oriented learning environment. SBL settings are supposed to integrate different dimensions of learning including cognitive, affective and social aspects. Simulation games as a widely used tool in SBL are characterized among others as collaborative, team-based environments fostering learners’ understanding of concepts and improving their ability to apply their theoretical knowledge in practical fields. The use of and research on simulation games has strongly increased throughout the last decades, but the few empirical findings in the literature are ambiguous. The present study contributes to a better understanding of relations between collaborative facets, emotional experience, in-game success as a performance index and learning outcomes during a complex general management simulation. It also focuses on the use of process journals to gather data during the simulation game process in classes of business informatics students in their last semester at a German Cooperative State University. Data of 49 third-year students (m = 36, f = 12, missing = 1; age ranged from 20 to 25) was collected on three occasions: (1) A self-report questionnaire prior to the simulation game. (2) A periodic process journal was administered during the simulation game at the end of each of the six team phases to collect data on participants’ perceived team collaboration and emotional experience. (3) After the simulation game, declarative, conceptual, and procedural knowledge was assessed. Correlation analysis showed medium scores in a range between 0.38 < r < 0.76 when significant, U-test showed results between 0.39 and 0.81 when significant. Our results indicate an association between a cohesive atmosphere including psychological safety and a structured team organization and positive epistemic emotions on the one hand with performance and conceptual as well as procedural knowledge on the other hand. Hence, we argue for the need to organize and support team processes during business simulation games carefully when facilitating such environments with students, whereas we could not find support for a strong connection between learners’ personality with simulation game outcomes.
... As highlighted by Hofmann et al. (2021), research is yet to generate a sufficient evidence base to fully understand which features of the simulations maximize the effects and for which learners, which learning objectives, and under which conditions these features do so. It thus seems valuable to collect and analyze rich data from various data sources (e.g., Hanus et al., 2022;Hühn & Rausch, 2022) and-especially to investigate learners' processing of simulations-various measurement points (e.g., Duchatelet & Donche, 2022;Hühn & Rausch, 2022;Vermeiren et al., 2022). Moreover, the use of qualitative and ethnographic methods seems to be gaining popularity as well, because they can offer detailed insights into the processes and outcomes captured by verbal or video data (e.g., Sellberg et al., 2022). ...
... As highlighted by Hofmann et al. (2021), research is yet to generate a sufficient evidence base to fully understand which features of the simulations maximize the effects and for which learners, which learning objectives, and under which conditions these features do so. It thus seems valuable to collect and analyze rich data from various data sources (e.g., Hanus et al., 2022;Hühn & Rausch, 2022) and-especially to investigate learners' processing of simulations-various measurement points (e.g., Duchatelet & Donche, 2022;Hühn & Rausch, 2022;Vermeiren et al., 2022). Moreover, the use of qualitative and ethnographic methods seems to be gaining popularity as well, because they can offer detailed insights into the processes and outcomes captured by verbal or video data (e.g., Sellberg et al., 2022). ...
... The majority of the studies in this issue focused on cognitive processes and outcomes of simulation-based learning. However, some of them also considered the affective and social aspects of learning (e.g., Braunstein et al., 2022;Hühn & Rausch, 2022Vermeiren et al., 2022. Focusing on cognitive outcomes is legitimized by the central learning goal of professional education: to facilitate professional knowledge and skills. ...
Preprint available at: https://psyarxiv.com/7nvp4/ -
In this article, we reviewed the nine studies included in a special issue that addresses the assessment and evaluation of simulation-based learning in higher education and professional training. We discussed the results of each study, integrated them in terms of their individual and collective contributions to evaluating the effectiveness of simulation-based learning, and related the studies’ results to the presage, process, and product factors of simulation-based learning. We concluded that research on simulation-based learning can benefit from employing a variety of methodological approaches and venturing beyond its primary focus on cognitive processes and outcomes to analyze the different types of process indicators and learning outcomes. Moreover, we identified a promising direction for future research: the selection and adjustment of representations of practice included in simulations by means of representational scaffolding. By proceeding with increasingly detailed analyses of simulation-based learning, research can further advance our understanding of the relevant learning mechanisms.
... However, there are mixed positions about the effectiveness of microenterprise projects in alleviating economic poverty in socially vulnerable populations, but not specifying what kind of vulnerability. While studies such as Eib and Siegert (2019) analyzed how gender and living situations affect entrepreneurs' engagement in their business, home, well-being in Germany and France, finding that entrepreneurship may only be beneficial to women who are self-employed and live alone, there is scarce available literature on the effectiveness of alternative teaching methods to young immigrant mothers' heads of households on business issues, and developing cross curricular skills (Fernandes et al. 2014;Hühn and Rausch 2022;Lateef 2010;Recto and Champion 2018). ...
... The participant's perception of their satisfaction with SBL in learning business concepts is a reliable signal about their long-term learning process. The result is like Hühn and Rausch (2022) findings on collaboration and emotions during simulation-based learning in general management courses. The author found that successful entrepreneurial teams are better at organizing decision-making processes in SBL experiences when they perceive a high satisfaction with the simulations executed, while cohesion and team organization also supports factors in management SBL environments. ...
This article analyses the perception of the effectiveness of the Simulation-Based Learning method in enhancing entrepreneurship skills and academic performance in 78 young immigrant mothers head of household in Colombia in an entrepreneurship course titled Youth and Entrepreneurship. A Wilcoxon signed rank test, and a Kendall Tau correlation coefficient were used to analyze the perceptions and academic performance from the sample studied during a five-month period. A pre-test, post-test, and achievement of academic objectives questionnaire were applied, as well as a verification test of previous knowledge and a focus group at the end of the entrepreneurship course. It was found that SBL enhance the Planning and Management Skills and the Communication Skill and does not fulfill all the course objectives. This study contributes to the analysis of the effectiveness of unconventional teaching methods in different socioeconomic contexts.
... Three other seminars were conducted via MS Teams where teams had their virtual rooms. We evaluated four seminars using the simulation game TOPSIM General Management which is a complex business sg that has been used in scientific study before (Hühn & Rausch, 2022). Students take on the role of the board of a company and make decisions in six areas of management (TOPSIM GmbH). ...
Introduction
The role of reflection in experience-based learning is discussed widely. This paper researches the effects of a reflection assignment as part of debriefing with qualitative and quantitative methodology in five simulation game-based seminars.
Research design an methods
The intervention (reflection assignment) used in this study consists of three reflective questions that are discussed in groups. We aim to find out the effects of adding this intervention to the regular in-between-debriefings (three times during the whole seminar). The methodological setup is quasi-experimental and so, consisted of a test group and a control group. Two different types of simulation games were used, one a general management game and the other a change management game. Data used in this study is gathered from three different sources: First, we used in-game-performance data from both games. Second, we used two types of questionnaires to evaluate game experience and self-reported learning (MEEGA+ and ZMS inventory). Third, the reflection notes from the treatment-teams were used for qualitative analysis.
Results
In several dimensions (game-success, game-experience and self-reported learning) significant differences were found between treatment and non-treatment students. Qualitative data show a deep level of reflection for treatment teams differentiating for the two simulation games evaluated.
Discussion
Supported by the qualitative reflection data we assume that the better results for treatment-students are routed in the repetitive reflection. The permanent circular reflection helps treatment students to understand the games better and gain deeper insights.
... One of them is through service learning initiatives [17,18]. The number of models of this nature can be seen in engaging their voluntary activities [19], where their determination is supposedly appreciated in the attempts to boost their commitment to increase their expertise in the post-learning stage [20]. From this point of view, getting involved in the community has to do with balancing between peers and social networks in an effort to determine the nature of the relationships that must be maintained to play a significant role in building their engagement in voluntary activities from the higher education (HE) level. ...
In the past decades, the demand for providing soft skills among higher learners has been met through cooperative teamwork commitment. The need to continue empowering such initiatives should entail finding a balance between accountabilities and capabilities to play a significant role in academic achievement and social community engagement. This paper aims to examine the strategies to empower cooperative teamwork to provide insights into community service sustainability, where this would entail designing its key roles to engage with higher learners’ practices. The literature from recent reviews was developed to construct a critical examination of the role of service learning in strengthening cooperative teamwork to contribute to community service sustainability. This approach used the keywords cooperative teamwork, community service, and service learning. The findings reveal that there are three main points representing the core attempts to help empower cooperative teamwork to support community service sustainability: expanding strategic management of cooperative-based experiential learning, community service with commitment to civic responsibility, and incorporating service learning into higher education (HE) contexts. The value of this paper aims to contribute to the knowledge development of service learning, specifically addressed with the experiential skills obtained through planning, implementing, and evaluating the service learning process. The ultimate aim was also to enhance cooperative teamwork with critical, creative, and innovative thinking as key performance skills.
... A cohesive atmosphere (including psychological safety, positive emotions and a structured team organization) is directly related to the students' performance [65], so it makes sense to do research into different ways of organizing collaborative learning. After conducting a number of experiments with different techniques, it will be possible to compare the learning outcomes, and the technique with the best outcome should then be integrated into the educational process. ...
(1) The main goal of this research was to assess the effectiveness of the computer-supported collaborative learning for language learning purposes using the indicators of students’ learning outcomes and the level of their engagement, as well as to determine the most effective benchmarks for teams’ forming. (2) Methods: A total of 81 undergraduate students studying at the Humanity Institute of Peter the Great Polytechnic University voluntarily participated in the study. For our research, we used the results on final English testing and survey results on students’ engagement. Each year, three groups of students were formed into teams according to three criteria: leadership skills, academic performance and personal choices. Microsoft Excel 2016 tools were used for data interpretation: testing samples for normality, a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and comparison of means. Neural network dependencies of test results were built by means of Mathematica Wolfram Software. (3) Results: According to the results of this study, the underlying principles of forming teams highly influenced the indicators of students’ English proficiency; in particular, the experiment proved the effectiveness of selecting students according to their academic performance. In addition, the correlation analysis revealed that the engagement of students played an important role and influenced the results of their learning. This was especially seen in a group where teams were distributed due to the differences in academic performance. (4) Conclusions: As the COVID-19 pandemic is an ever-changing situation, it is important to implement effective learning models that promote higher learning outcomes and students’ engagement. This study contributes to such knowledge and provides insightful implications to academia.
This article describes the theoretical and methodical procedure for the development of a standard questionnaire (inventory) for the evaluation of teaching with simulation games. Based on theoretical considerations, a starting model for the evaluation of lecturing with simulation games was created. To verify the initial model, surveys were conducted in eleven courses at the Centre for Management Simulation (ZMS) at the Baden-Wuerttemberg Cooperative State University/Germany (DHBW) using six different simulation games. Based on 182 data sets, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to test and improve the initial model for the evaluation of teaching with simulation games. This improved theoretically and empirically based model for the evaluation of teaching with simulation games forms the basis for the final questionnaire. Combined with different methodological approaches the inventory for the evaluation of teaching with simulation games offers a wide variety of opportunities for advanced research on teaching with simulation games. Between April and December 2021, the inventory has already been used in more than 75 simulation game courses and has been combined with other quantitative and qualitative research methods. In the meantime, roughly 3.000 students participating in over 150 Face-to-Face and Online simulation game courses with more than 30 different simulation games have filled in the questionnaire. First analysis on this broad empirical basis confirm that the questionnaire can be successfully used for a broad variety of simulation game based courses.KeywordsEvaluationQuestionnaireEmpirical researchFactor AnalysisSimulation Game
The aim is to develop an intelligent automatic facial expression recognition and emotion analysis (AFEREA) algorithm that, first, characterizes the time-based raw signals of biosensors in quantitative indicators of the emotional state of the individuals participating in an experiment and, second, compares the emotional reactions across them in terms of intensity and duration. The proposed Statistical Emotion Control (SEC) intelligent algorithm is based on statistical process control (SPC) theory. After representing the individuals’ baseline behaviour in a non-normal I-chart and describing the output per subject in emotional peaks with their corresponding duration in terms of relative cutoffs, SEC uses Poisson c-charts to compare across subjects in terms of the quantity of peaks and binomial p-charts in terms of length of the emotional reactions. To validate the data-driven algorithm, the state-of-the-art iMotions software and its AFFDEX face recognition and emotion analysis algorithm is used to record the individuals while receiving the results of their economic decisions when playing an experimental business game. The SEC intelligent algorithm is proven to be useful to take the raw output of the biosensors, to characterize the intensity and duration of the emotional reactions as well as to compare across subjects by emotion. SEC recognizes “out of control” negative emotions more often (7.25% vs. 2.00%) and positive emotions as often (15.63%) by setting relative cutoffs instead of traditional absolute thresholds. The results show significant pairwise discrepancies among both tested settings in 7.86% of the recorded 560 combinations of emotions and individuals, with a high 43.59% among those timeseries with the maximum recorded value above the traditional threshold of 50.
Background
Simulation gaming sessions can be understood as a sequence of briefing, game play, and debriefing - with feedback loops and iterative steps in between. Often, these sessions are supported by a facilitator, who organizes the session, sets learning goals, and guides the players through briefing, game play and debriefing ( Taylor, Backlund & Niklasson, 2012 ), which we call facilitation. Debriefing is a vital part of the facilitation process, as according to Crookall (2010) and Kriz (2010) , it facilitates learning. Contrary to many traditional models that locate the debriefing phase at the very end of a simulation gaming session, we conceptualize debriefing as reflection moments during the whole session, in which participants have the opportunity to reflect on their game play, experiences, and learnings. Facilitation is the process of enabling participants to address challenging situations of the game play, and make connections between the game play and the real environment the game refers to throughout the simulation gaming session.
Method & Results
We analysed existing debriefing literature within the Simulation & Gaming journal. This review revealed that many existing approaches do not sufficiently consider changing needs of participants during a simulation gaming session to allow for a direct reflection on what is happening. Instead, a large number of debriefing approaches focus on a post-action reflection only. Moreover, the approaches analysed in our article often are abstract and only provide scarce practical recommendations. In addition to the literature review, we draw conclusions from observations of our own work in and with simulation gaming sessions. Based on the related and our own work, we propose a new model for simulation game facilitation, which better connects moments of reflection with the game play - the Impulse-Debriefing-Spiral.
Conclusions
We provide a holistic understanding of debriefing that helps facilitators when implementing simulation games for learning purposes. Our model, called the Impulse-Debriefing-Spiral, conceptualizes the role of facilitation between briefing and debriefing throughout the whole process of a simulation gaming session - starting with its planning to reacting on emerging needs of the participants in between, up to closing the session as last step before transferring new knowledge and competencies into a new context (learning transfer).
Need for Cognition (NFC) beschreibt interindividuelle Unterschiede in der Freude an kognitiver Aktivität und der Tendenz, Aufwand in die Verarbeitung von Informationen zu investieren. Trotz vorhandener Belege für die Bedeutsamkeit von NFC im akademischen Kontext, wurde seine Relevanz bezogen auf eher affektive Merkmale und subjektive Erfolgsindikatoren wie Studienzufriedenheit vor Beginn dieser Arbeit kaum erforscht. Weiterhin existieren noch viele Wissenslücken rund um die Grundlagen von NFC und Prozesse oder Merkmale, die Befunde aus dem Anwendungskontext erklären können. Diese Arbeit widmete sich darum sowohl der Untersuchung der praktischen Relevanz von NFC im Studienkontext mit dem Fokus auf affektiven Merkmalen und subjektiven Erfolgsindikatoren als auch der Klärung offener Fragen aus der Grundlagenforschung zu NFC. Vor dem Hintergrund einer Anwendungsperspektive untersuchte die erste Studie Implikationen von NFC für verschiedene Aspekte von Studienerfolg. Die Ergebnisse belegen eine positive Assoziation von NFC mit Studienleistung und erweitern frühere Studien um den Befund eines moderaten Zusammenhangs von NFC mit Studienzufriedenheit. Der Ansatz, NFC mit affektiven Variablen in Verbindung zu bringen, wurde in Studie 2 an Lehramtsstudierenden weiterverfolgt. Sie ergab Zusammenhänge von NFC mit subjektiver Leistungsfähigkeit, aktiver Problembewältigung, Neubewertung als Strategie der Emotionsregulation und Trait-Selbstkontrolle. Der Zusammenhang mit Studienleistungen wurde in dieser Studie ebenfalls bestätigt, während NFC nicht mit Studienzufriedenheit zusammenhing. Vier weitere Studien untersuchten die Grundlagen von NFC und seine Bezüge zu kognitiven Fähigkeiten und Selbstkontrolle. Studie 3 bestätigte kleine bis moderate Zusammenhänge mit Intelligenz. Es bestanden keine Assoziationen von NFC mit Verarbeitungsgeschwindigkeit und exekutiven Funktionen. Basierend auf Hinweisen zu Zusammenhängen zwischen NFC und affektiven Merkmalen untersuchten die Studien 4 bis 6, in welcher Beziehung NFC und Selbstkontrolle stehen. Es ergaben sich teilweise bedeutsame Zusammenhänge, deren Stärke von der Operationalisierung von Selbstkontrolle abhing. Die untersuchten Erklärungsansätze für den Zusammenhang von NFC mit Selbstkontrolle wiesen auf implizite Theorien zur Willenskraft, Handlungsorientierung sowie motivationale Prozesse als dahinter liegende Mechanismen hin. Insgesamt unterstreichen die Studienergebnisse, dass NFC eine Bedeutung im Umgang mit komplexen Herausforderungen zukommt, die nicht nur die reine kognitive Verarbeitung, sondern auch die Bewältigung affektiver Anforderungen betrifft. Die Befunde sprechen dafür, dass NFC mit verschiedenen Merkmalen assoziiert ist, die Individuen eine flexible Anpassung an wechselnde, (emotional) herausfordernde Lebensumstände erleichtern. Zudem finden sich in den Ergebnissen vielversprechende Erklärungsansätze für den Zusammenhang zwischen NFC und Selbstkontrolle. Weiterführende Studien sollten insbesondere die Befunde zu affektiven Merkmalen und grundlegenden Prozessen im Zusammenhang mit NFC vertiefen. Dabei sollte in Anlehnung an diese Arbeit die Verknüpfung von grundlagen- und anwendungsbezogener Forschung fortgesetzt werden.
Simulation-based learning offers a wide range of opportunities to practice complex skills in higher education and to implement different types of scaffolding to facilitate effective learning. This meta-analysis includes 145 empirical studies and investigates the effectiveness of different scaffolding types and technology in simulation-based learning environments to facilitate complex skills. The simulations had a large positive overall effect: g = 0.85, SE = 0.08; CIs [0.69, 1.02]. Technology use and scaffolding had positive effects on learning. Learners with high prior knowledge benefited more from reflection phases; learners with low prior knowledge learned better when supported by examples. Findings were robust across different higher education domains (e.g., medical and teacher education, management). We conclude that (1) simulations are among the most effective means to facilitate learning of complex skills across domains and (2) different scaffolding types can facilitate simulation-based learning during different phases of the development of knowledge and skills.
This is the initial report of a multi-university study of students participating in business simulations. The study’s purpose is an attempt to determine what skills students learn while taking part in business gaming. This study defined a set of 16 primary learning skills that had been previously suggested by a variety of authors. University students were surveyed immediately upon completion of a business simulation that was included in their coursework. The results presented here are limited to US students enrolled in US universities. Future analysis will explore whether the data suggests international students learn the skills differently than US nationals. This study found that debriefing had a substantial and measurable impact on the student’s learning; however, debriefing alone was not the primary variable in learning. It was important only after the student considered the debriefing to be important and their instructor had the ability to facilitate the debriefing.
After working with a number of scholars for two years, a university designed a mobile learning platform referred to as ‘College English IV,’ where learners could have easy access to various kinds of learning resources through installing the program in their smart phones. This study aims to identify whether this platform could significantly improve the proficiency of English as a foreign language (EFL), yield learner satisfaction, and reduce learners’ cognitive loads in EFL classes. Randomly selected 340 tertiary students participated in the study. After quantitative multivariate analysis and qualitative interview data analysis, it was concluded that: (1) In EFL classes, participants with the mobile learning platform were more satisfied than those without it; (2) In EFL classes, learning outcomes of participants with the mobile learning platform improved significantly more than those without it; and (3) In EFL classes, cognitive loads of participants with the mobile learning platform were significantly lower than those without it. Interdisciplinary research may be needed in future research.
Educators have struggled to incorporate authentic team-based learning (TBL) into the business curriculum despite increasing evidence that collaborative learning can enhance learning outcomes. We investigate the use of online business simulations as a platform for fostering authentic TBL for undergraduate and postgraduate business students studying at seven institutions in Australia and Hong Kong. Quantitative analysis of 365 surveys is supported by focus groups with 14 students. Structural equation modeling (SEM) is used to model the relationships between teamwork, learning outcomes, and satisfaction. Qualitative results support the statistical modeling and are presented to add further insights and conceptual richness. The findings support our proposition that online business simulations provide an authentic TBL environment, which contributes to learner satisfaction by supporting the development of management-related learning outcomes through socially constructed meaning. This conceptual contribution highlights further avenues for research and leads to some practical implications for educators using simulation-based pedagogies.
Background. Despite the increasing pervasiveness of digital entertainment and serious games in organisational life, there is little evidence for the validity of game-based team training and assessment.
Aim. The authors used the game, TEAMUP for a series of team training and assessment sessions, while at the same time researching the internal validity of the game for this purpose.
Method. A total of 106 sets of data on games played by teams of professionals (police officers, auditors, consultants, etc.) and undergraduates and postgraduates (in aerospace engineering, entrepreneurship, etc.) were gathered for analysis through pre- and post-game questionnaires focusing on constructs for team quality, such as psychological safety and team cohesiveness. In addition, a large quantity of such data as time to complete task, distance and avoidable mistakes were logged to measure in-game team performance. Correlation and regression analyses were conducted to find relationships between team structure factors, team quality constructs and in-game performance measures.
Results. The main finding is that the in-game performance measure ‘avoidable mistakes’ (a proxy for task quality) correlates markedly and pervasively with ‘team cohesiveness’. More important, the findings support the premise that in-game assessment can be internally valid for team research and assessment purposes.
The paper describes a solution to the need to find adequate ways of developing management-related competencies for students and trainees, which we consider a relevant pursuit for both literature and education practitioners knowledge. It is based on the case study method, describing the experience of the authors with the TOPSIM General Management II (GM2) business simulation game and the outcome regarding the development of competencies for participating students from two master programs from the Faculty of Engineering in Foreign Languages in Bucharest/Romania in the last 8 years, exploring the development of 21 management-related competencies. The chosen competencies and individual characteristics are: analytic thinking, strategic thinking, team work, defining goals, opportunity recognition, problem recognition, problem solving, decision making, proactive thinking, time management, communication, intuitive thinking, responsibility, argumentation, creativity, delegation, diplomacy, conflict management, flexibility, courage and self esteem. By showing the positive impact of students’ GM2 participation in the development of management-related competencies from both professors and students point of view the paper adds a valuable best practice insight that can be used in universities and companies at an international level.
Cronbach’s alpha is a statistic commonly quoted by authors to demonstrate that tests and scales that have been constructed or adopted for research projects are fit for purpose. Cronbach’s alpha is regularly adopted in studies in science education: it was referred to in 69 different papers published in 4 leading science education journals in a single year (2015)—usually as a measure of reliability. This article explores how this statistic is used in reporting science education research and what it represents. Authors often cite alpha values with little commentary to explain why they feel this statistic is relevant and seldom interpret the result for readers beyond citing an arbitrary threshold for an acceptable value. Those authors who do offer readers qualitative descriptors interpreting alpha values adopt a diverse and seemingly arbitrary terminology. More seriously, illustrative examples from the science education literature demonstrate that alpha may be acceptable even when there are recognised problems with the scales concerned. Alpha is also sometimes inappropriately used to claim an instrument is unidimensional. It is argued that a high value of alpha offers limited evidence of the reliability of a research instrument, and that indeed a very high value may actually be undesirable when developing a test of scientific knowledge or understanding. Guidance is offered to authors reporting, and readers evaluating, studies that present Cronbach’s alpha statistic as evidence of instrument quality.
Background. Design games have been widely used in service co-design to structure the design dialogues between stakeholder groups and service designers in probing, imagining and prototyping services. However, we propose that the type and phase of the design dialogues scaffolded by design games can be expanded to include early phases of service co-design.
Method. To illustrate this approach, we studied ATLAS, a design game for service co-design project planning through a video-based microethnography. In ATLAS, service designers and other project stakeholders collaboratively explore their early understanding of the project goals, participants and methods. We studied the interaction between an interorganizational group of players based on a video recording of a game of ATLAS.
Results. Our analysis produced four categories of interaction displayed by both the players and the facilitator: co-creating the plan, thinking with the material, playing the game and following the rules. Based on these themes of interaction, we characterize the structure provided by ATLAS as a co-creation scaffold that supports planning and an interaction scaffold that maintains the game activity.
Conclusions. Based on our study, we describe the ability of design games to structure dialogues as scaffolding. Through our study, we expand the role of design games to include the earliest phases of service co-design projects.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyse the critical role reflection plays in work-based learning (WBL).
Design/methodology/approach
This paper presents an contextualist examination of reflection in the WBL environment.
Findings
People consciously reflect in order to understand events in their lives and as a consequence hopefully add and enhance meaning.
Research limitations/implications
Reflection is associated therefore with “looking back” and examining the past in order to learn from what happened and perhaps not repeat mistakes. However, it is also increasingly associated with reflecting on action (Schon, 1983) and encourages an exploring of thoughts and feelings; looking for insights; and maximizing on self-awareness which all tie the process closely to identity formation (Lacan, 1977).
Practical implications
If used effectively and purposefully reflection facilitates ongoing personal and professional learning, and creates and develops practitioners capable of demonstrating their progression towards learning outcomes and required standards. Reflection can also provide a structure in which to make sense of learning, so that concepts and theories become embedded in practice, and constant thought and innovation are simultaneously fostered.
Social implications
By actively considering the thoughts and actions one becomes aware of the power of reflective thinking as a tool for continuous improvement, and one that has implications beyond the personal.
Originality/value
This paper represents the first study which examines the role reflection plays in WBL.
Measurement instruments assessing multiple emotions during epistemic activities are
largely lacking. We describe the construction and validation of the Epistemically-
Related Emotion Scales, which measure surprise, curiosity, enjoyment, confusion,
anxiety, frustration, and boredom occurring during epistemic cognitive activities.
The instrument was tested in a multinational study of emotions during learning
from conflicting texts (N = 438 university students from the United States, Canada,
and Germany). The findings document the reliability, internal validity, and external
validity of the instrument. A seven-factor model best fit the data, suggesting that
epistemically-related emotions should be conceptualised in terms of discrete
emotion categories, and the scales showed metric invariance across the North
American and German samples. Furthermore, emotion scores changed over time as
a function of conflicting task information and related significantly to perceived task
value and use of cognitive and metacognitive learning strategies.
In Human Resource Management research it is often necessary to consider personality traits. In this article we describe the adaptation of an English language short questionnaire to measure the “Big Five” personality traits. The questionnaire is validated with a student sample. We apply item, scale, and explorative factor analyses as well as confirmatory multitrait-multimethod analysis. The results show that the questionnaire enables an economic measurement of the “Big Five”, meets reliability standards, and appears to be valid.
This review paper attempts to update the
literature on tolerance of ambiguity (TA) and related concepts since a previous
review (Furnham & Ribchester, 1995). Various related concepts like
Uncertainly Avoidance and In/Tolerance of Uncertainly are reviewed. Both
correlational and experimental studies of TA are reviewed and tabulated.
Further, an attempt was made to identify and critique various different questionnaires
design to measure TA. Recommendations for the use of these tests in research are
made. The reasons for progress and lack of progress in this field are
highlighted.
Background. Research shows that learning and task performance improve when participants in management exercises understand the structure of the system they control. However, the majority of business simulators are black-boxes.
Aim. This article introduces structural debriefing, which is a debriefing activity aimed at helping students learn about causal relationships, feedbacks, accumulations, and delays within a black-box simulation.
Method. A structural debriefing can be prepared and facilitated by following the Structural Debriefing Protocol.
Results. A pilot study was conducted in which undergraduate students participated in a structural debriefing of The LITTLEFIELD TECHNOLOGIES, a popular simulation for teaching principles of operations management. The students were able to complete all eight steps of a structural debriefing, but required considerable time (three academic terms) to do so. Not every instructional simulation will require all the steps or such a large time commitment.
Conclusion. The successful completion of the pilot study demonstrates that structural debriefing is a useful debriefing technique. However, to be effective, the scope and format of a structural debriefing activity must suit practical and pedagogical considerations.
A concept map is a graphical tool to activate and elaborate on prior knowledge, to supportproblem solving, promote conceptual thinking and understanding, and to organize andmemorize knowledge. The aim of this study is to determine if the use of concept mapping(CM) in a problem-based learning (PBL) curriculum enhances the PBL process. The paperreports on two studies. The first study was conducted with four PBL groups, with twogroups using concept mapping. In the second study, three of seven groups were assignedto use concept mapping. All PBL groups were audio- and videotaped. Results show thatconcept mapping did not lead to more or better matching learning goals. Neither did itaffect the time spent on step 4 of the seven-step method. When evaluating the PBL session,students working with concept mapping were more satisfied with the execution ofstep 4, the decision-making process, and the communication within the group. Thoughindications exist that concept mapping might be a useful tool to enhance the process ofPBL, further research is needed, controlling for the impact of the quality of the problemsand the tutor interventions.
In last decades many studies in the literature are trying to identify the effectiveness of computer games in education. However the results of these attempts are controversial. In order to identify the effectiveness of games in education, it is needed to define the quality in the games. In this article the aim is to identify the quality of any educational computer game in terms of three main categories which are enjoyment, learning and usability. In order to evaluate quality in games a scale to evaluate educational computer games is developed which evaluates learning and enjoyment characteristics of educational computer games. The scale will be used by teachers in order to identify the quality of the computer games before applied to students. Moreover, to develop the scale, a game model is also created. The model explains properties of a qualified game in terms of learning, enjoyment and usability. The model includes three parts as input, process and outcome which identified by Garris, Ahler and Driskell (2002). Also the model has the Kolb's experiential learning cycle (Kolb, 1984) in the process part. (C) 2012 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and/or peer review under responsibility of Prof. Dr. Huseyin Uzunboylu
When teaching accounting to undergraduate students, tutors face a number of challenges. There is the challenge of ‘instrumentality’ as students are motivated to study accounting not because of some inherent love, or proven ability, for the subject, but for vocational reasons linked to future extrinsic reward (Ottewill, The challenge of insturmentality in business education, paper presented at the University of Glamorgan, 23 September 2002). Further challenges, possibly linked to instrumentality, are in the approaches to learning adopted by some students where surface learning is favoured to deep learning. Finally, students of accounting at university often lack concrete experience to enhance their learning, possibly causing them to adopt learning style preferences favouring abstract conceptualization. Students adopting such learning style preferences can often perform well in methods of assessment favouring theoretical aspects of accounting. Indeed, there is evidence that many accounting tutors lack concrete experience, further endorsing the status quo. This paper outlines the use of a computer simulation in an attempt to combat some of the challenges faced by accounting educators by providing an opportunity for concrete experience in an educational setting. It argues that the use of such a simulation is more in keeping with learning theories developed in educational psychology in general and experiential learning in particular. It presents an opportunity for students to develop algorithmic thinking, to use spreadsheet-modelling skills in a realistic setting, to enhance cognition in understanding the ‘whole’ of a business problem, and to reduce instrumentality through the intrinsic enjoyment of problem-based learning.
Purpose
– Proponents have argued that simulation-based learning (SBL) offers capabilities that respond to persisting critiques of management education. This research intended to provide additional empirical evidence for the instructional effectiveness of SBL. This paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
– This research adopted a quasi-experimental, multiple time series design to examine the instructional effectiveness of courses that incorporated computer simulations in a Master of Management program at a business school in Thailand. It compared student perceptions of three SBL courses with courses that used a variety of other instructional approaches over a period of seven years.
Findings
– Results revealed that students rated the SBL courses significantly higher on overall perceived instructional effectiveness, as manifested by action-directed learning, student engagement, quality of assessment and feedback, and instructor effectiveness.
Research limitations/implications
– The consistency of significant results for a large number of course sections over a substantial period of time suggests that the SBL courses created a more active, productive environment in which to learn management theory and practice.
Practical implications
– The results support assertions that simulations offer potential for enhancing the quality of university-based management education.
Originality/value
– First, the research provides empirical insights into the implementation of SBL in management education; second, many instructors remain skeptical as to whether active learning methods imported from western contexts are suitable for Asian learners. The study addresses this issue in the light of data that describe one institution's sustained attempt to employ computer simulations in its graduate management education program.
In this chapter, we will 1. Review the literature on embedded assessment in games for learning, 2. Introduce an approach to improving the diagnostic power of game metrics through learning mechanics and assessment mechanics, 3. Present a case study employing Cognitive Task Analysis for the study of learner behavior in science simulations, 4. Present two case studies illustrating the approach in learning games developed by G4LI. 31.1 Introduction This chapter introduces the approach taken by the Games for Learning Institute (G4LI) to assess learning and related learner variables, with a focus on the use of metrics obtained during game play and simulation exploration. Learning is funda-mental to all games (Gee 2008) . At minimum, players must learn the basics of a game's mechanics to play. Additionally, players must uncover what these
The authors present the methodological background to and underlying research design of an ongoing research project on the scientific evaluation of serious games and/or computer-based simulation games (SGs) for advanced learning. The main research questions are: (1) what are the requirements and design principles for a com- prehensive social scientific methodology for the evaluation of SGs?; (2) to what extent do SGs contribute to advanced learning?; (3) what factors contribute to or determine this learning?; and (4) to what extent and under what conditions can SG-based learn- ing be transferred to the real world? In the Netherlands between 2005 and 2012, several hundred SG sessions with 12 SGs were evaluated systematically, uniformly and quantitatively to create a dataset, which comprises data on 2488 respondents in higher education or work organizations. The authors present the research model, the quasi-experimental design and the evaluation instruments. This focus in this paper is on the methodology and dataset, which forma sound foundation for forthcoming pub- lications on the empirical results.
Analysis was conducted to assess the relationship between financial performance on a business simulation exercise and various other measures of student learning. Financial performance was represented by a composite performance score that rated student companies based on net income, return on investment (ROI), and return on assets (ROA) achieved in a competitive, computer-based management simulation. (Although highly intercorrelated, a 1988 study by House and Napier found the combination of these measures provided the best overall measure of a company's financial performance.) Little or no relationship was found between the performance score and the other measurements used to assess student learning.
In the design of interactive applications, notably games, a recent trend is to understand player behavior by investigating telemetry logs as is the focus of many chapters in this book or by integrating the use of psychophysics as is the subject of Chaps. 26 and 27. In addition to these valuable methods, measuring, where players are likely to focus, could be a very useful tool in the arsenal of game designers. This knowledge can be utilized to help game designers decide how and where to allocate computing resources, such as rendering and various kinds of simulations of physical properties. This leaves as many computing cycles as possible free to carry out other tasks. Therefore, the perceived realism of a game can be increased by perceptually optimizing calculations that are computationally intensive, including physically based lighting (e.g. ray-tracing Cater et al. 2003), animations (e.g. crowds of characters McDonnell et al. 2009), physically correct simulations of the interaction of materials (e.g. collision detection (O’Sullivan 2005), natural behavior of clothes or fluids etc.). Level of Detail variants of simulation or rendering techniques can be used in regions which are less attended by the player, while accurate simulations can be used within the expected focus of a user. Verifying or improving game mechanics and AI could be other uses.
This article proposes a business game taxonomy. The taxonomy creates a comprehensive definition of business games in general and identifies their parameter-defining characteristics. A successful taxonomy can facilitate the comparison of different game-based educational tools and can direct application-based research to a game’s most learning-associated components. The field’s existing taxonomies within the literature are inadequate for both purposes. The genesis of our five-part taxonomy of business games was both literature-based and intuitive. It is hoped that this taxonomy will serve to develop a global database to be built collaboratively by the community of business game users and developers.
Collaborative mechanisms are starting to become prominent in computer games, like massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs); however, by their nature, these games are difficult to investigate. Game play is often complex and the underlying mechanisms are frequently opaque. In contrast, board games are simple. Their game play is fairly constrained and their core mechanisms are transparent enough to analyze. In this article, the authors seek to understand collaborative games. Because of their simplicity, they focus on board games. The authors present an analysis of collaborative games. In particular, they focus on Reiner Knizia’s LORDOFTHERINGS, considered by many to be the quintessential collaborative board game. Our analysis yields seven observations, four lessons, and three pitfalls, that game designers might consider useful for designing collaborative games. They reflect on the particular opportunities that computers have for the design of collaborative games as well as how some of the issues discussed apply to the case of computer games.
This study investigates whether the processes associated with the use of business simulations can be structured to improve transfer of learning from the classroom environment to the workplace.The answer to this question is explored by investigating teaching methods used to introduce the simulation, the amount of time students spend on decisions, team decision-making characteristics, and student performance levels in the course. The results indicate that students have higher perceived transfer of learning when they learn the simulation by reading the student manual and from peers rather than from the instructor or from hands-on experience. Also, the results indicate that perceptions of time spent on strategic decisions, financial decisions, and student expectations of their final grade were related to perceived transfer of learning.
The authors explored the factors contributing to student learning in the context of business simulation. Our results suggest that social interaction and psychological safety had a positive impact on knowledge development in student groups, and that this synergistic knowledge development enabled students to form complex mental models. Implications of the findings are discussed.
Background. Simulation-based learning (SBL) has been applied and studied in educational settings for at least six decades. While numerous reviews of research have been conducted from different perspectives, none to date have used bibliometric methods to analyze the evolution of simulation-based learning as a ‘knowledge base’.
Aim. The review sought to document the growth and geographic distribution of research on SBL. In addition, the review aimed to identify key authors and documents, and analyze the intellectual structure of this knowledge base. Finally, the review highlighted emerging topics in this literature.
Method. The authors identified 2,812 Scopus-indexed SBL documents published between 1965 and 2018. Bibliographic data were exported from Scopus and analyzed using VOSviewer software. Analyses included descriptive statistics, citation and co-citation analysis, and keyword co-occurrence analysis.
Results. The review found a rapidly increasing publication trajectory with 90% of the literature published since 2000. Although SBL studies have been authored in 94 different countries, the literature is concentrated in Anglo-American-European societies. The review found that the intellectual structure of this knowledge base is comprised of four schools of thought encompassing research on SBL in management education, medical education, technology-enhanced SBL, and learning theories in SBL. Another notable finding was that SBL researchers in medical and management education have progressed on parallel tracks leading to the balkanization on knowledge. Surprisingly, the conceptual core of the field is located in the school of thought associated with learning theories in SBL. This implies that SBL is a subfield of education rather than a discipline in and of itself. Emerging topics that have attracted scholars writing on SBL in recent years are identified and implications for future research discussed.
Background. Despite the increasing use of business simulation games in management education little is known about their effectiveness as learning tools.
Aim. The aims of this study were to assess the effectiveness of an international business simulation game in enhancing levels of student engagement.
Methods. We investigated student engagement levels after using a simulation game, as measured through quantitative self-reports obtained through a survey among students. The results were compared to engagement levels experienced in more traditional classroom based case discussions with the same students in the same course. The study was carried out across six class sections taught by two professors over two semesters.
Results. The results show that average student engagement levels were higher during the traditional case study class than during the class using the simulation game. The standard deviation of the reported levels of student engagement was higher for the simulation game than for the traditional class, indicating that student responses were more extreme (either positive or negative) for the class using the simulation game. Students who were generally more motivated to learn reported higher levels of engagement with the simulation, whereas students with low levels of motivation who found the game complex became less engaged.
Conclusion. Simulation games are not always necessarily effective in enhancing engagement among all students. The choice between traditional and experiential learning methods may be partly determined on the basis of the level of student motivation and other student characteristics.
Epistemische Emotionen, wie Überraschung, Neugier und Verwirrung, spielen eine wichtige Rolle bei der Wissensgenerierung. Dennoch gibt es erst seit kurzem ein Messinstrument, das mehrere diskrete Emotionen während epistemischer Aktivitäten ökonomisch erfasst: die Epistemic Emotion Scales (EES; Pekrun, Vogl, Muis, & Sinatra, 2016). Dieses Messinstrument ist für die weitere Erforschung dieser bisher wenig untersuchten Gruppe akademischer Emotionen geeignet. Hier beschreiben wir die Konstruktion und Validierung der deutschsprachigen Version dieses Messinstruments. Die Epistemic Emotion Scales (EES) bestehen aus sieben Skalen zur Messung von epistemischer Überraschung, Neugier, Freude, Verwirrung, Angst, Frustration und Langeweile. Das deutschsprachige Messinstrument wurde im Rahmen einer Studie zum Lernen aus Texten über genetisch manipulierte Nahrungsmittel getestet (N = 160). Die Ergebnisse bestätigen die Reliabilität sowie interne und externe Validität der Skalen. Die internen Konsistenzen fielen gut aus. Die Korrelationen der Skalen und die Ergebnisse konfirmatorischer Faktorenanalysen sprechen dafür, dass es sich wie erwartet um distinkte Emotionen handelt, die hypothesenkonform mit externen Kriterien einschließlich Kontroll- und Wertüberzeugungen sowie selbstberichteten Lernstrategien korrelieren.
An overview is presented of the strengths and limitations of simulation learning, with a particular focus on simulation learning in medicine and health care. We present what simulation learning is about and what the main components of simulations are. The most important theoretical approaches are reviewed which were developed in order to explain why simulation learning is effective. The most prominent best-practice examples of simulation learning applications are presented, and a short overview on research findings concerning simulation learning is given.
Das Lernen und Arbeiten in Gruppen stellt durch den hohen Interaktionsgrad zwischen den Gruppenmitgliedern einen fruchtbaren Boden für die Entstehung von Emotionen dar.
So auch im Schul- und Hochschulkontext: Bunt gemischte Gruppen interagieren, lernen und arbeiten miteinander, face-to-face aber auch immer häufi ger online vernetzt in digitalen Kontexten, und erleben eine Vielzahl an positiven und negativen Emotionen. Im Fokus dieses
Beitrags stehen die Emotionen, die während eines kooperativen Serious Games entstehen und die Frage nach Einflüssen der Gruppenzusammensetzung hinsichtlich des Ausmaßes, in dem sich die Mitglieder einer Gruppe kennen als auch des Ausmaßes der Kenntnisse der Gruppenmitglieder.
Die Stichprobe der vorliegenden Untersuchung besteht aus elf Gruppen mit je vier Studierenden (Alter zwischen 19 und 40 Jahre, 23 weiblich) die im Rahmen des Serious Games Team Up gemeinsam Aufgaben bearbeiten und lösen. Die einzelnen Gruppenmitglieder und
das Gesamtgeschehen werden per Video aufgezeichnet und diese als Stimuli beim Nachträglichen Lauten Denken der einzelnen Gruppenmitglieder genutzt. Die Videoaufnahmen und
Transkripte des Lauten Denkens werden zur Analyse herangezogen. Die Ergebnisse der Studie gewähren einen Einblick in kollaborative Prozesse von Studierenden während eines Serious Games, ihren Emotionen und dem Einfluss der jeweiligen Gruppenzusammensetzung.
Background. Designing collaborative three-dimensional (3D) learning games is one way to enhance the quality of learning and respond to the needs of working life. However, there is little research on how to apply different game mechanics to support different educational aims.
Aim. This study determines how game mechanics implemented within computer-supported collaboration roles (scripted vs. emergent) are associated with the emergence of collaboration.
Method. The research at hand applies both qualitative and quantitative content analysis. The target group consisted of 15 vocational school students. The data were gathered by recording the groups’ discussions and saving the game logs. A total of 8,128 transcribed utterances were eligible for content analysis to shed light on the characteristics in knowledge construction under scripted and emergent role situations.
Results. We found differences between the players’ utterances in tasks with scripted and emergent roles. At the scripted-role level, providing knowledge was the most dominant type of utterance. Further, students with similar roles performed actions and applied similar activities. In the level based on emerging collaboration processes, shared problem solving was the most actively used speech activity.
Conclusions. Emphasizing and applying different game mechanics with different collaboration roles (scripted vs. emergent) can be used to support different educational aims of games.
Recommendation. Collaboration is needed among professionals from technological and educational sites of game research to fully understand how to apply game mechanics in educational games.
Problem. Teams or groups of individuals working together to achieve a shared goal, make up today’s world of work. Although the literature is rife with issues concerning teams, there is no coherent structure to guide researchers wishing to gain a deeper understanding into those factors leading to positive team outcomes.
Question. This is due in part to two factors; one being the methods (e.g., observation; self report) typically employed to study teams often do not apply rigorous standards for reliability and validity. The second is it is difficult to construct data gathering situations that realistically approach the context in which teams operate.
Approach. Addressing the first issue, we present a framework for the type of data that should be gathered to reliably and validly evaluate team performance. We believe the second issue is best addressed through the application of serious games, where realistic scenarios are delivered representing problems similar to those faced by teams in the real world. Finally, we describe a study whereby we demonstrate the approach utilizing a serious game to gather the data, which is then analyzed to assess the reliability and validity of the measures.
Conclusion. With reliability and validity being established, a latent change score model is presented to illustrate how rich models of team interaction can be stated, investigated, and statistically assessed; since the serious game ensures the quality of the team interaction and the superior quality of the data.
Serious games are steadily becoming a powerful tool for educational purposes as their challenging characteristics are suggested to make them particularly appealing to learn with. This challenging nature, however, comes at a price, namely, the need to maintain the optimal balance according to players’ emotional experiences. By focusing on players’ emotions as main player characteristic considered to be important for learning processes and performance, this chapter surveys empirical research and current game development that contributes to an emotion-adaptive framework for games. The goal of this chapter is to clarify the importance of continuously adjusting game characteristics to players’ emotional states. As the interaction between game characteristics and players’ emotions highlights the need for continuously assessing at what point gameplay becomes more or less positively or negatively affected, methods for emotion recognition are presented. A summary of adaptable game design elements as well as implementation methods for adaptivity are provided.
Need for cognition is a psychological construct that refers to an individual’s desire for, and enjoyment of, intellectually engaging activities. As such, a substantial amount of research has shed light on how need for cognition is associated with numerous positive outcomes, such as learning and academic success, and also how it is associated to theoretically related constructs found in the literature (e.g., intellectual engagement, epistemic curiosity). The current chapter begins by providing an overview of the historical background and development of need for cognition. The subsequent section provides a review of the empirical work in psychology and education that has since illuminated the differences, similarities, and relationships between this construct and others that share a similar theoretical orientation. We then describe the different methods that need for cognition is assessed and briefly discuss their various psychometric properties. Finally, the chapter closes with a discussion of how need for cognition has been shown to be related to desirable learning and educational outcomes and how this trait may be cultivated in order to promote these beneficial and positive effects. In addition, some insights for future research are provided.
Aim. In close cooperation with an international automotive supplier we developed the “C2” business simulation game in order to meet real work practice needs. Based on the example of a site-location decision and the setup of a new factory in China, the participants of the game experienced the challenges of an interdisciplinary project team as well as project management in complex and rapidly changing situations. During the game we used the creative learning method LEGO® Serious Play®,1 which helps to express different understandings through hands-on modelling. The aim of the game is to acquire and improve both technical project management knowledge and soft skills of the participants.
Method. In total, 47 students participated in one of six two-day game sessions. They reported self-perceptions about their skill level through pre- and postgame questionnaires. Further data were collected during the simulation game based on observations, lessons learned reflections of the participants and evaluation questionnaires.
Results. Results from our pre- and post-game self-assessment questionnaires show that the “C2” business simulation game improves not only conceptual knowledge about project management but also team working and the participants’ other soft skills. Results indicate that the students’ reactions to the simulation game were positive, and students felt that the LEGO Serious Play method helped them to better cope with challenges of teamwork, influences of stakeholders, risk factors and unpredictable project situations.
Conclusion. These results suggest that our business simulation game has the potential to be an effective learning and training tool to provide students with relevant skills necessary for project managers. By giving students the opportunity to act in an authentic scenario based on a real project case, we can support their action-oriented as well as their trial-and-error learning, or in short their learning through experience.
This chapter summarizes findings showing that mild positive affect facilitates thinking, problem solving, and social interaction through increased cognitive flexibility and explores a possible role for neuropsychology in understanding these effects. Several lines of research show that mild happy feelings, induced in everyday ways that people often encounter in the course of their daily lives, promote effective thinking and problem solving by enabling flexible thinking that allows the person to respond to the situation in its complex context. Studies have demonstrated that positive affect engenders motives such as kindness, helpfulness, and generosity, but also positive-affect maintenance and fairness to oneself as well as to others. Recent work is showing that one reason this occurs is because positive affect facilitates cognitive flexibility characterized by openness to useful information (even if it is negative in tone), reduced "defensiveness," and the ability to see multiple sides of the situation and switch attention among them. This ability to hold multiple ideas or facets of a situation in mind, in turn, fosters a better ability to solve complex problems, both interpersonal and nonsocial. Another result of this kind of openness to information and cognitive flexibility that is fostered by positive affect is increased enjoyment of variety in safe situations and improved ability to deal with a large, complex decision task or set of material or options. Another, however, is reduced risk taking in dangerous situations, as people-although more optimistic about winning-are also more aware of the negative utility or consequences of a loss. Most recently, research is focusing on positive affect's beneficial effect on self-control of several types, including its facilitation of flexible attention deployment that enables both broadened attention and focus on a target task. This ability is reflected in superior incidental learning and divided attention, without impaired performance on the target task. This chapter summarizes some of these findings and explores a possible role for neuropsychology in understanding these effects, arguing not for the superiority of one level of analysis (behavioral, cognitive, neuropsychological) over others, but for their integration and a search for the ways in which each can contribute to the others.
A team is more than a group of people in the same space, physical or virtual. In recent years, increasing attention has been devoted to the social bases of cognition, taking into consideration how social processes in groups and teams affect performance. This article investigates when and how teams in collaborative learning environments engage in building and maintaining mutually shared cognition, leading to increased perceived performance. In doing so, this research looks for discourse practices managing the co-construction of mutually shared cognition and reveals conditions in the interpersonal context that contribute to engagement in these knowledge-building practices. A comprehensive theoretical framework was developed and tested. The constructs in the model were measured with the Team Learning Beliefs & Behaviors Questionnaire and analyzed using regression and path analysis methodology. Results showed that both interpersonal and sociocognitive processes have to be taken into account to understand the formation of mutually shared cognition, resulting in higher perceived team performance.
This article defins game mechanics in relation to rules and challenges. Game mechanics are methods invoked by agents for interacting with the game world. I apply this definition to a comparative analysis of the games Rez, Every Extend Extra and Shadow of the Colossus that will show the relevance of a formal definition of game mechanics.
We conducted a meta-analysis to clarify the construct validity of self-assessments of knowledge in education and workplace training. Self-assessment's strongest correlations were with motivation and satisfaction, two affective evaluation outcomes. The relationship between self-assessment and cognitive learning was moderate. Even under conditions that optimized the self-assessment-cognitive learning relationship (e.g., when learners practiced self-assessing and received feedback on their self-assessments), the relationship was still weaker than the self-assessment-motivation relationship. We also examined how researchers interpreted self-assessed knowledge, and discovered that nearly a third of evaluation studies interpreted self-assessed knowledge data as evidence of cognitive learning. Based on these findings, we offer recommendations for evaluation practice that involve a more limited role for self-assessment.
A computer-based geometry game was adapted to allow for play using a conceptual rule or an arithmetic problem-solving mechanic. Participants (n = 91) from an urban middle school were randomly assigned to experimental conditions. Results suggest that play in the number condition was more situationally interesting than play in the rule condition. Participants in the rule condition were found to perform better in the game than those in the number condition. Learning outcome results suggest that in the number condition, but not the rule condition, playing more levels in the game diminishes the gain from pretest to posttest. For the design of games for learning, results highlight the importance of choosing a game mechanic that reflects the intended learning outcomes.
Introduction: This study describes (a) process goals, (b) success factors, and (c) barriers for optimizing simulation-based learning environments within the simulation setting model developed by Dieckmann. Methods: Seven simulation educators of different experience levels were interviewed using the Critical Incident Technique. Results: (a) The main process goals were to enhance learning, engage participants, and aid the application of what was learned during the course. (b) As success factors, educators stated their own competencies and attitudes, motivation and openness of participants, and a functional environment. (c) As barriers, educators stated a lack of willingness to actively engage in simulation by the participants and time pressure. The results emphasize the need to consider jointly the interrelated elements of simulation-based learning environments to optimize the use of educational simulation. Discussion: The results support the applicability of Dieckmann’s setting model to describe simulation-based courses and emphasize the diversity of factors that need to be considered in optimizing simulation practice. This article can serve as a practical aid for educators within health care simulation settings and in other domains.
Taught as the “capstone” course in most universities, strategic management is designed to teach the skills of strategic thinking and analysis rather than mere facts or concepts. So, educators should have some assurance that their students learn to “do” strategy. Self-efficacy enhances a person’s task interest, persistence, willingness to exert effort, and, ultimately, task performance. This article investigates the relative contribution of simulations and case studies for improving students’ self-efficacy in strategic management. Using pre-and posttest data from a sample of 252 students, the authors conclude that simulations result in significantly higher improvements in self-efficacy than case studies.
The short Need for Cognition Scale (Cacioppo, Petty, & Kao, 1984) and the NEO-FFI (Costa & McCrae, 1992) were completed by 85 undergraduates to investigate the relationship between need for cognition and the domains of the big-five factor model of personality. Significant positive direct relationships were obtained between need for cognition and the big-five domains of openness to experience and conscientiousness. These findings are consistent with the conceptualization of need for cognition as the tendency to enjoy and engage in effortful thought. There also was a significant first-order negative correlation between need for cognition and the neuroticism domain. This finding is consistent with the role of need for cognition hypothesized within cognitive-experiential self-theory (Epstein, 1994).
A number of emerging challenges including globalization, economic pressures and the changing nature of work has combined to create a business environment that demands innovative, flexible training solutions. Simulations are a promising tool for creating more realistic, experiential learning environments to meet these challenges. Unfortunately, the current literature on simulation-based training paints a mixed picture as to the effectiveness of simulations as training tools, with most of the previous research focusing on the specific technologies used in simulation design and little theory-based research focusing on the instructional capabilities or learning processes underlying these technologies. This article examines the promise and perils of simulation-based training, reviews research that has examined the effectiveness of simulations as training tools, identifies pressing research needs, and presents an agenda for future theory-driven research aimed at addressing those needs.