Business School Professors Should Be Like Movie Directors

https://hbr.org/2014/05/business-school-professors-should-be-like-movie-directors>

‘Learners Perceived Study Skill Is A Better Predictor Of Learner

Engagement Than Their Prior Academic Performance’- A Gamification Perspective

ARUN.V,ASST. PROFESSOR, FAROOK INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES, CALICUT,

KERALA

DR. SIBU C. CHITHRAN,PROFESSOR& HEAD (MANAGEMENT STUDIES), MANGALAM COLLEGE OF

ENGINEERING, KOTTAYAM, KERALA.

The existing pedagogical model of business education embeds functional structure and continues to produce graduates with good technical specialist skills and knowledge in functional areas such as accounting, marketing, logistics, finance and human resources (Cecez Kecmanovic et al 2002; Karpin 1995).

Increasing class sizes, Limited availability of quality resources, Diversity of students and Changing student demographics are placing demands on higher education to explore new pedagogies.

The context of study

Need for the studyIn our MBA institutions business graduates are poorly engaged in terms of learning and they are ill equipped to face real life business challenges as a result of this. Universities across the globe are increasingly required to produce highly skilled graduates who are able to respond to the ever changing and complex needs of the contemporary workplace (Weil, 1999; Sleezer et al., 2004; Possa, 2006). In addition to these, business schools are facing dual challenges – first to make their courses relevant by incorporating industry relevant skills and knowledge, and second to design and implement innovative learning methods and pedagogy (Mortais et al. 2006).

Management graduates are not effectively equipped to face real time business challenges. There is an increasingly wide ‘gap’ between the skills and capabilities of graduates and the business world requirements.

Relevant Questions 1. Will gamification be a solution for engaging

majority of the MBA students?2. Can business simulation games be used for

effectively gamifying courses?3. What are the capabilities of content and context

gamification?4. What are the factors that will influence learner

engagement in a gamified environment?

ObjectivesTo find out whether learner’s academic ability influences learner engagement during business simulation games. This will help to explore the possibilities of the usage serious business games as an effective intervention for building graduate business skills irrespective of their academic performance.

To find out whether learner’s perceived study skill level influences learner engagement during serious business simulation games.

HypothesisH01: There is no significant association between learner’s academic achievement and learner engagement during serious business simulation games.H02: There is no significant association between learner’s perceived study skill level and learner engagement during serious business simulation games.

Learner engagement

Learner engagement has been defined as “participation in educationally effective practices, both inside and outside the classroom, which leads to a range of measurable outcomes” (Kuh et al., 2007).

Higher education research has shown that “the extent to which students are engaging in activities is linked with high-quality learning outcomes” (Krause and Coates, 2008).

GamificationGamification is the process of incorporating game elements into non-game contexts in an effort to increase user-engagement (Deterding et al., 2011; Deterding & Dixon, 2011; Nicholson, 2012; Huotari & Hamari, 2012). Common implementations of gamification include incorporating the scoring elements of games, such as points, levels, and achievements, and applying them to a work or educational environment (Deterding & Dixon, 2011; Deterding et al., 2011). Effective gamification allows participants to use game elements as a way to reflect on their completion of a learned activity, as noted by Deterding (2011).

Business Simulation GameBusiness simulation games, also known as economic simulation games or tycoon

games, are games that focus on the management of economic processes, usually in the form of a business. (Wikipedia 2015). Currently business simulation games are widely used for training managerial, technical, and problem-solving skills, based on the experiential learning principles as they significantly increase the motivation and interest level of trainees. (Yuri Merkuryev, Jana Bikovska, 2012)

Methodology

‘Project Management EDGE’‘Project Management EDGE’ is a simulation game used for teaching project management concepts where different student teams represent different Project

Organisations while playing. The game sets a scenario for each team to compete with each other for completing a project within its constraints. Each team interacts with other teams and virtual project stake holders.

1. ‘Project Management EDGE’ game is used as the gamified intervention to teach project management concepts

2. A questionnaire is used to measure the level of learner engagement during the game

3. The measured data is categorized using

a) Academic achievement level

b) Perceived Study skill4. These categories are compared using ANOVA and Chi-square

to test the hypothesis

Analysis and Findings

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Chart TitleAcademic Achievement ...

Table 1. ANOVA Summary Table comparing learner engagement among low academic achievement group and high academic achievement group

 Sum of Squares

df Mean Square F Sig.

Between Groups 72.200 1 72.200 1.213 .274

Within Groups 4643.350 78 59.530    

Total 4715.550 79      

The significance of F test is 0.274 in this case for learning engagement. This indicates that at the confidence level of 95 percent (corresponding to the significance level of 0.05) the F-test proves the model is not significant.

Thus the there is no significant difference in learner engagement among the two category of students

Table 2. Chi-Square Tests table of the association between learner engagement and academic achievement among various category of students.

  Value df Asymp. Sig. (2-sided)

Pearson Chi-Square 13.950a 12 .304

Likelihood Ratio 15.270 12 .227

Linear-by-Linear Association .887 1 .346

N of Valid Cases 80    

a. 14 cells (70.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is .30.

From the above table, the chi-square test read a significance level of 0.304 at 90 percent confidence level. It signifies that there is no association between learner engagement and learner’s academic achievement. Thus the null hypothesis is rejected and it is argued that irrespective of students previous academic performance business simulation games engage students

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Learner EngagementStudyskill Level

Table 2. Chi-Square Tests table of the association between Learner Engagement and Perceived Study Skill Level among various category of students.   Value df Asymp. Sig. (2-

sided)Pearson Chi-Square 35.807a 15 .002

Likelihood Ratio 23.184 15 .080

Linear-by-Linear Association 8.128 1 .004

N of Valid Cases 80    

a. 18 cells (75.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is .05.

From the above table, the chi-square test read a significance level of 0.002 (<0.1) at 90 percent confidence level. It signifies that there is strong association between learner engagement and learner’s perceived study skill level. Thus the null hypothesis H02 is rejected and it can be argued that learner’s perceived study skill levels which is a function of learners’ level of confidence in studies is a predictor of learner engagement during business simulation games.

Findings

It is found that learners and engaged through a business simulation game irrespective of their previous academic performance.It can be argued that learner’s perceived study skill levels which is a function of learners’ level of confidence in studies is a predictor of learner engagement during business simulation games.

ConclusionFrom the study it is interpreted that learners with better confidence about their study skills get more engaged during business simulation games. Previous studies have shown that better engagement

results in better learning and skill acquisition. Thus gamification of learning using business simulation games is a viable solution to engage and equip the majority of business graduates irrespective of their academic achievements.

Gamification of the course is an effective methodology for engaging students in the learning environment. Better learning engagements also results in effective skill acquisition.

Questions?

Thank you