A pedagogy to enhance the value of simulations in the classroom

Abstract

Purpose of the Study: The purpose of this study is to illustrate how changing the role of the instructor to that of a Business Coach and adding executive briefings and a rubric for evaluating the critical thinking of the students can enhance the simulation pedagogy. Methodology: The authors propose a set of activities that can naturally be overlaid on a business simulation to enhance the learning experience. Although the entire pedagogy is described, the focus is on three particular elements - Business Coaches, executive briefings, and a longitudinal assessment of learning. In this examination, instructors assumed the role of Business Coaches and mentored students via a series of executive briefings. These briefings enabled the Coaches to evaluate 658 participating students according to a rubric patterned after Bloom's revised hierarchy of learning. Results: The data suggest that the enhanced simulation pedagogy provided a valuable platform for learning to occur. The repetitive nature of the exercise coupled with regular assessment and formative feedback were key to the learning outcome. Value to Marketing Educators: The proposed pedagogy can be readily applied to any business simulation, thereby providing more guidance to students and instructors alike. It can also be applied to other longitudinal assignments such as term projects and comprehensive cases.