Treffer: Simulations as an Innovative Pedagogy leading to Skill Enhancement.

Business simulations games provide students with the opportunity to manage a complex organization over an extended period of time in the face of great uncertainty. Students are required to apply their knowledge by thinking and acting in an integrative manner. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to assess whether use of simulation games as an experiential tool help in better understanding of the concepts and contribute to skill enhancement. Methodology: The paper evaluates student learning through the use of simulation games by using two methods: a pre-and-post questionnaire, and record their responses after playing the game in light of the skills assessed. Both methods allowed for an initial benchmark to be established, followed by a measure of how much students improved. For the questionnaire, answers were scored and a paired-comparison t-test was calculated to assess learning. Results: The results point to the conclusion that the students did learn expected skills from the game. Basic functional knowledge increased, students gained an appreciation for the complexity and importance of understanding of interdisciplinary issues and of decision making in general, and students enjoyed the game and thought it was a worthwhile learning experience. It was evident that many students grasped the larger strategic issues and were beginning to apply them more broadly. Although not all changes were statistically significant, most did improve, suggesting that students developed a deeper hands-on understanding of the issues. Value to Teacher and Students: The executive briefings and the accompanying rubric that follow after each decision round of the simulation game provide much needed practice for skill development. It is important that the teacher takes these executive briefings religiously after each decision round using the rubrics else will remain intellectual guidelines and not skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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