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Applying Constructivist Approach to Educational Business Games: Case REALGAME

Timo Lainema, Pekka Makkonen, Applying Constructivist Approach to Educational Business Games: Case REALGAME. Simulation & Gaming: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Theory, Practice and Research 34(1), 131-149, 2003.

Abstract:

Business organizations and their employees face ever-increasing complexity and accelerating changes. This brings along the need for training models that can transmit knowledge and skills needed in this kind of environment. Especially business process understanding is required. This paper evaluates business games in the light of constructivism, which is a view of learning emphasizing the need to anchor training to everyday activities and concrete contexts. On the basis of constructivism we introduce a new computer-based business game. The purpose of this construction is to give the business game participants a realistic view of business processes and, thus, enhance participant business process perception. The primary aim of the construction is to present business processes to game participants by providing a natural representation of the real world and a case-based learning environment, which fosters reflective practice. Although this paper does not explicitly describe a geographically distributed game case, the paper introduces a game construction, which is based on Internet transmission protocol, and thus can also be used in a distributed manner. But as such the paper argues for the use of techniques that support continuously processed and Internet based gaming simulations.

BibTeX entry:

@ARTICLE{jLaMa03a,
  title = {Applying Constructivist Approach to Educational Business Games: Case REALGAME},
  author = {Lainema, Timo and Makkonen, Pekka},
  journal = {Simulation & Gaming: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Theory, Practice and Research},
  volume = {34},
  number = {1},
  pages = {131-149},
  year = {2003},
  keywords = {business games; business process training; constructivism; continuous gaming; distributed learning environments; interactive learning environments},
}

Belongs to TUCS Research Unit(s): Other

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