Overview Teaching Games

What

the use of game design elements in non-game contexts (Deterding et al. 2011, 2)

Why

Is it worth it?

[A]re games effective learning tools[?] [T]he answer from the research is overwhelmingly positive. (de Freitas 2018, 80)

Figure 1: The Experiential Learning Cycle and Regions of the Cerebral Cortex. (D. A. Kolb 2014, 195)

Some Examples

Topic Game
Macroeconomic Forecasting FREDcast (Mendez-Carbajo 2019)
Principles of Economics Monopoly (Lew and Saville 2021)
Foreign Exchange Risk Monopoly (van der Laan Smith 2013)
Inequality Modified Monopoly; The Game of Social Life (board game with childhood/adulthood sides) (Bramesfeld and Good 2015)
Cost Concepts Lego (Mastilak 2012)
Patenting Strategy Texas Hold’em (Picault 2020)
Climate Change Climate Fresk (Ringenbach 2015)
Innovation Systems Simulation Game (Kreutzer 2024)

Example 1: Climate Fresk

Climate Fresk Overview

Figure 2: Example Collage Climate Fresk, EOSE10 VT2024

Example 2: Innovation System

Figure 3: Simulation Game Overview

Figure 4: Development Process

(see also Lew and Saville 2021; Fischer and Barabasch 2020)

Key Factors for Successful Teaching Games

  1. Learning goals trump gameplay (Westera 2019)
  2. Game fits into learning context Lew and Saville (2021)
  3. Provide space for reflection: (before), during, after (Westera 2019; Lew and Saville 2021)

Hands on

Learning Objectives

  • Implementation Reasons (Why?)
  • Desired Learning Outcomes (What?)
  • Target audience (Who?)

Context

  • Extent of game

single element <——> whole game

Possible game mechanics

  • Your favorite board game (other than Monopoly)
  • Memory
  • Bingo
  • Your favorite sports
  • Children’s games (e.g. Who am I?)

Take Aways and Questions

  1. Using serious games in teaching can improve motivation and learning outcomes.

  2. The goal is to teach first, have fun second. Design teaching games from outcome to mechanism and use your presence as a teacher to monitor and guide learning.

  3. Start with what you feel comfortable, experiment, iterate, involve students in design process. It does not have to be perfect. Students like to support honest efforts to improve education.

  4. Join tomorrow’s session Pioneers, Inc.: A hybrid simulation for teaching long-run business history 11:15 – 12:00, LUSEM, EC1:136

Feel free to reach out 👋

pjkreutzer.github.io

References

Bramesfeld, Kosha D., and Arla Good. 2015. “The Game of Social Life: An Assessment of a Multidimensional Poverty Simulation.” Teaching Sociology 43 (2): 92–103. https://doi.org/10.1177/0092055X15569316.
de Freitas, Sara. 2018. “Are Games Effective Learning Tools? A Review of Educational Games.” Journal of Educational Technology & Society 21 (2): 74–84. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26388380.
Deterding, Sebastian, Rilla Khaled, Lennart E. Nacke, and Dan Dixon. 2011. “Gamification—Toward a Definition.” In CHI 2011 Gamification Workshop Proceedings, 1–4. Vancouver: ACM.
Fischer, Silke, and Antje Barabasch. 2020. “Gamification. A Novel Didactical Approach for 21st Century Learning.” In Vocational Education and Training in the Age of Digitization. Challenges and Opportunities, edited by Eveline Wuttke, Jürgen Seifried, and Helmut Niegemann. Verlag Barbara Budrich.
Garber, Lawrence L., Eva M. Hyatt, and Ünal Ö. Boya. 2017. “Gender Differences in Learning Preferences Among Participants of Serious Business Games.” The International Journal of Management Education 15 (2, Part A): 11–29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijme.2017.02.001.
González-González, Carina S, and Vicente Navarro-Adelantado. 2021. “The Limits of Gamification.” Convergence 27 (3): 787–804. https://doi.org/10.1177/1354856520984743.
Kolb, Alice Y., and David A. Kolb. 2005. “Learning Styles and Learning Spaces: Enhancing Experiential Learning in Higher Education.” Academy of Management Learning & Education 4 (2): 193–212. https://doi.org/10.5465/amle.2005.17268566.
Kolb, David A. 2014. Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development. FT Press.
Kreutzer, Jonas. 2024. “Innovation Systems Game PJK – Innovation Systems for Sustainability – Simulation Game.” https://pjkreutzer.github.io/innovation-systems-game/.
Lew, Charlene, and Adrian Saville. 2021. “Game-Based Learning: Teaching Principles of Economics and Investment Finance Through Monopoly.” The International Journal of Management Education 19 (3): 100567. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijme.2021.100567.
Loon, Mark, Jason Evans, and Clive Kerridge. 2015. “Learning with a Strategic Management Simulation Game: A Case Study.” The International Journal of Management Education 13 (3): 227–36. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijme.2015.06.002.
López, Fernando Rodríguez, Mario Arias-Oliva, Jorge Pelegrín-Borondo, and Luz María Marín-Vinuesa. 2021. “Serious Games in Management Education: An Acceptance Analysis.” The International Journal of Management Education 19 (3): 100517. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijme.2021.100517.
Mastilak, Christian. 2012. “First-Day Strategies for Millennial Students in Introductory Accounting Courses: It’s All Fun and Games Until Something Gets Learned.” Journal of Education for Business 87 (1): 48–51. https://doi.org/10.1080/08832323.2011.557102.
Mendez-Carbajo, Diego. 2019. “Experiential Learning in Macroeconomics Through FREDcast.” International Review of Economics Education 30 (January): 100137. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iree.2018.05.004.
Picault, Julien. 2020. “Patent Vs. Open Source: A Classroom Activity Using Texas Hold’em Poker.” The International Journal of Management Education 18 (2): 100389. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijme.2020.100389.
Prado, Andrea M., Ronald Arce, Luis E. Lopez, Jaime García, and Andy A. Pearson. 2020. “Simulations Versus Case Studies: Effectively Teaching the Premises of Sustainable Development in the Classroom.” Journal of Business Ethics 161 (2): 303–27. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-019-04217-5.
Ringenbach, Cédric. 2015. “Climate Fresk.”
van der Laan Smith, Joyce A. 2013. “Understanding Foreign Exchange Risk: An Instructional Simulation Exercise.” Issues in Accounting Education 28 (1): 181–95. https://doi.org/10.2308/iace-50311.
Westera, Wim. 2019. “Why and How Serious Games Can Become Far More Effective: Accommodating Productive Learning Experiences, Learner Motivation and the Monitoring of Learning Gains.” Journal of Educational Technology & Society 22 (1): 59–69. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26558828.