scholarly journals Does Scientific Evaluation Matter? Improving Digital Simulation Games by Design-Based Research

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sven Ivens ◽  
Monika Oberle

Grounded in a design-based research approach, the aim of this article is to determine whether scientific evaluations help to (a) identify and fix problems in educational interventions and (b) eventually foster a more effective and positive evaluated intervention. Therefore, data from a longer-term evaluation of short digital simulation games about the European Parliament for civic education in schools were used. The data included three cycles of interventions with pre- and post-evaluations starting with the first prototype in 2015/2016 (n = 209), the second cycle in 2017/18 (n = 97), and the last one in 2019/20 (n = 222). After each evaluation, major problems and critiques regarding the simulation game were discussed with the developers, and changes were implemented in the game design. The four most important problems, the processes by which they were improved and the reactions of the participants in the following evaluations are pointed out in the article. A comparison of the last and first evaluation cycle showed an overall improvement of the simulation game regarding its effectiveness in transferring EU knowledge and the participants’ general satisfaction with the simulation game. This study underlines the value of the design-based research approach for developing educational interventions and can be useful for further work on civic education measures and the implementation of digital simulation games.

2018 ◽  
Vol 60 ◽  
pp. 114-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.-M. Koivisto ◽  
E. Haavisto ◽  
H. Niemi ◽  
P. Haho ◽  
S. Nylund ◽  
...  

2015 ◽  
Vol 81 ◽  
pp. 35-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Birgit Schmitz ◽  
Roland Klemke ◽  
Jaap Walhout ◽  
Marcus Specht

Author(s):  
Marcin Wardaszko

Case studies and simulation games have a lot in common. In this chapter, the author analyses the commonalities of case studies and simulation games in three different aspects. The first aspect is the use of simulation games as case study based simulation games for teaching and learning, which are essential parts of simulation and gaming. The second aspect is designing case-study-based simulation games for educational purposes. The third aspect is using case-study-based simulation games in organisational development to increase the effectiveness of organisations and cultural changes. In order to help to design the appropriate learning experience, the author proposes a new game classification related to rule rigidity and win-state conditions, which will help the designers in their task of designing the proper case-study-based simulation game.


2018 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 263-278 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcin Wardaszko

Background. This article offers another look at the complexity in simulation game design and implementation. Although, the topic is not new or undiscovered the growing volatility of socio-economic environments and changes to the way we design simulation games nowadays call for better research and design methods. Aim. The aim of this article is to look into the current state of understanding complexity in simulation gaming and put it in the context of learning with and through complexity. Methodology. The nature and understanding of complexity are simultaneously field-specific and interdisciplinary. Analyzing understanding and role of complexity in different fields associated with simulation game design and implementation. Thoughtful theoretical analysis has been applied in order to deconstruct the complexity theory and reconstruct it further as higher-order models. Results and recommendations. This article offers an interdisciplinary look at the role and place of complexity from two perspectives. The first perspective is knowledge building and dissemination about complexity in simulation gaming. Second, perspective is the role the complexity plays in building and implementation of the simulation gaming as a design process.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 74
Author(s):  
Vít Pászto ◽  
Jiří Pánek ◽  
René Glas ◽  
Jasper van Vught

Simulation games, as a method of playful learning, have been used for more than 70 years in various disciplines with the economy as a leading application field. Their development has been tied with advances in computer science, and nowadays, hundreds of simulation games exist. However, simulation games are not just useful for encouraging disciplinary knowledge production; they also promise to be effective tools for interdisciplinary collaboration. To further explore these promises, we report on the design and playing of a simulation game on the boundary of geoinformatics and business and economics; an interdisciplinary field we have termed Spationomy. Within this game, students from different disciplinary (and cultural) backgrounds applied their knowledge and skills to tackle interdisciplinary problems. In this paper, we also analyze students’ feedback on the game to complement this aspect. The main goal is to discuss the design process that went into creating the game as well as experiences from play sessions in relation to this increase of interdisciplinary knowledge among students. In the end, we present a new gaming concept based on real-world data that can be played in other interdisciplinary situations. Here, students´ feedback on individual features of the game helped to identify future directions in the development of our simulation game.


2014 ◽  
Vol 76 (6) ◽  
pp. 408-414 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua S. White ◽  
April C. Maskiewicz

Using a design-based research approach, we developed a data-rich problem (DRP) set to improve student understanding of cellular respiration at the ecosystem level. The problem tasks engage students in data analysis to develop biological explanations. Several of the tasks and their implementation are described. Quantitative results suggest that students from the experimental class who participated in the DRP showed significant gains on cellular respiration posttest items, and students from the control class who participated in a non-DRP task showed no significant gains. Qualitative results from interviews and written responses showed that students from the experimental class progressed to deeper “levels of achievement” in cellular respiration. The data-rich tasks promote student understanding of cellular respiration, matter transformation, decomposition, and energy transformation – all goals recommended by the Next Generation Science Standards.


1977 ◽  
Vol 5 (1_suppl) ◽  
pp. 18-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolyn Chambers Clark

Learning outcomes of a simulation game designed to have one-to-one correspondence between behavioral objectives and game plays is reported The behavioral objectives were core concepts in psychiatric mental health nursing taught to associate degree nursing students. Decisions to use the simulation game method grew out of difficulties inherent in the community college nursing program, as well as the need for self-paced, efficient, learner-centered learning and evaluative tools. After the trial and revision of the game, a number of research hypotheses were tested Simulation gaming was found to be an effective mode of learning, and students who acted as teachers for other students learned significantly more than those who were taught. Some of the recommendations for further research were to study varied nursing populations, to add a control group, to test the long-range learning effects of playing the game, to decrease experimenter bias, to study transfer of learning to actual nurse-patient situations and changes in attitudes toward psychiatric patients, and to develop more simulation games for nursing education.


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