the role of ‘edutainment’ in education for sustainable...

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The Role of ‘Edutainment’ in Education for Sustainable

Development Dr. Kay Emblen-Perry Senior Lecturer, Sustainable Management Worcester Business School, University of Worcester

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Or “How do you get students to respond without competition and greed when there’s a prize at stake?” Or “How to stop celebrating competition and greed”

Presentation contents

1. Research context

2. The Sustainable Strategies Game

3. Research methodology

4. Findings of initial study

5. Next steps

Presenter

Presentation Notes

I am presenting the initial phase of research into an alternative approach to addressing the challenge of improving energy consumption reduction in non-domestic buildings.

Literature Context

• Games promote new ways of learning and thinking, which is considered vital within ESD (HEFCE: 2013).

• Games engage and motivate students who no longer find tradition approaches engaging (Cheong et. al.: 2014; Nagel et. al.: 2014)

• Games are valuable as tools to generate positive effects on learning (Annetta et. al.: 2009; Katsaliaki and Mustafee: 2015)

• Games provide valuable learning environments for ESD as they engage players in cognitively demanding tasks that require problem-solving and decision-making skills (Fabricatore and Lopez: 2012)

• Students are Net’geners who exhibit different learning characteristics and preference for collaborative experiential activities (Raines: 2002)

• Contextualised activities within games generate experiential learning that can motivate players to engage in rethinking the game strategy (Gee: 2007; Baytak and Land: 2011)

Presenter

Presentation Notes

There are numerous literature sources that suggest games engage, motive and educate students. But what I’m interested in is whether the Sustainable Strategies Game can actually get students to think differently about their behaviour, and how organisations can act…and hpefully take this with them into their current and future workplaces to make a difference.

Module Context

• Sustainable Strategies Game played with Level 5 & 6 students

• > 50 students played S2 2015-16 • Students enjoy playing SSG

Round 1 - “I like this game” Round 5 - Players are

responding with “competition and greed”

• But it could be so much better…

Presenter

Presentation Notes

I play this game with Level 5 students on Business Sustainability and the cross-institute sustainability elective and Level 6 students in Managing Emerging Issues. The students appear to engage strongly in the game – partly I suspect because its competitive. The teams work well in teams and collaborate to beat the others …but it would be so much better to collaborate with other teams. Its much easier to make higher long term profits in the game if all teams work together. And making ling term profits and collaboration if 2 of the fundamental principles of sustainability

Sustainable Strategies Game (SSG)

• Groups act as manufacturing companies based around a lake Production utilises lake water Profits depend on quality of water

• Game tasks groups to maximise profits whilst considering Prudent use of natural resources Protection of the environment Social impact

• SSG is played over a series of rounds in which students define their business strategy Pay off from each round = money

earned and change to water quality

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Strategy made by selecting to vote BAU – continue to pollute the lake (effects water quality) Limit pollution - preserves water quality Voting is secret – implications of strategies chosen by groups is declared at the end of each round Pay off for each company depends on the balance of votes case i.e number voting BAU, number voting LP Water quality – affects potential profits Ace of Spades represents an intervention – card allocated to team by facilitator to represent social media campaign against them.

Facilitator Reflection

• SSG needs to be developed: Collaboration as an strategic

option Consideration of impacts of

chosen strategy e.g. environment, local community

Challenge players’ thinking for sustainability

• Student feedback required Q1: Experience of playing SSG Q2: How it could be enhanced to

challenge their thinking

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Playing the game in 2014-15 showed need to encourage Groups to collaborate to achieve higher profits or all groups in the long term vs short term individual gain Consider the impacts of the strategy chosen e.g. the impacts on the local community, bad publicity etc. Student feedback is needed for 2 reasons: To understand if they value playing the game as much as I think they do Asking students their suggestions to improve the game will identify what is relevant to them This doesn’t mean that everything suggested will be adopted – it may be too costly, too difficult to adopt or prove unlikely to change behaviours…so the findings are evaluated and prioritised.

Methodology: Action Research

Step 1: Study and Plan

Step 2: Take Action

Step 3: Collect and

Analyse Evidence

Step 4: Reflect

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Survey asked students 2 questions: 1. What is your experience of

playing SSG? 2. What game enhancements

could challenge behaviours?

AR follows methodology of Riel and Lepori (2011)

Presenter

Presentation Notes

This presentation covers a single cycle of Action Research which has adopted the methodology of Riel and Lepori (2011). The data has been collected through a survey of game players at the end of the game debriefing. Survey asking 2 things: Students experience of playing SSG – to establish its value for Education and Entertainment and establish whether it offer “edutainment” What interventions do players suggest could be put in place to enhance the game – challenge sustainability thinking, make players change business strategies chosen etc. Evaluation of findings involved applying decision making criteria of ease of implementation, cost to implement, likelihood of challenging behaviours

Q1: Research Findings: ‘Edutainment’ Value

• “Great experience. It showed how businesses in real life act when rewards are being given for not being sustainable.”

• “Eye-opener, enjoyable, educational.”

• “I found it really helpful and challenging.”

• “A good use of how sustainability is implemented within business operations. Fun way to understand it.”

• “The experience I found by playing the game was highly educating. I learned new things by enjoying a team game.”

• “It was fun and challenging.”

Research Findings

Q2: Research Findings - Potential Interventions

Game Features

42.5%

Game Problems

15%

Game Logistics 42.5%

Presenter

Presentation Notes

The interventions suggested by students were collated into 3 themes. Some ideas were duplicated. Individual suggestions within each of the 3 themes were then evaluated using a decision matrix. I’ll go through each theme separately and show the decision matrix scoring.

Q2: Research Findings - New Game Features?

17

6

6

5

5 1

Modifications to the RewardSystem

Intervention cards to drivecollaboration

Introduce a method to changewater quality more frequently

Introduce additional strategicgame-play options

Prevent partnerships or secretcollaborations

Increase the risk a polluter isfined

Presenter

Presentation Notes

The features suggested are quite general but offer some good suggestionsthat highlight areas that students feel relevant to them

Findings Evaluation: Game Features

Game Feature

Ease

of

impl

emen

tatio

n

Cos

t of

deve

lopm

ent

Like

lihoo

d of

ch

alle

ngin

g be

havi

ours

Tota

l sco

re

Intervention cards to drive collaboration 3 4 4 48 Introduce additional strategic game-play options 3 4 3 36

Modifications to Reward System 2 5 3 30

Increase the risk a polluter is fined 3 5 2 30

Introduce a method to change water quality more frequently 2 4 2 16

Prevent partnerships or secret collaborations 1 5 2 10

Presenter

Presentation Notes

3 criteria selected. Each is scored out of 5 – the higher the number the easier to implement, lower the cost and greater the likelihood of challenging behaviours. Each is then multiplied together to get a total score. Modifications to the reward system are difficult to design in, may influence the outcomes of the game inappropriately. Additional strategic game play options may more the game away from simulating real business decisions – most businesses can decide between carrying on doing what they are doing or do one thing different. Very rarely do businesses have the luxury of multiple choices for short term improvements to sustainable practices.

Q2: Research Findings - New Game Logistics?

3

2

2

1 3

2

2

1 1

Simplify players manual

Create a video showing rules

Play with more teams

Play over longer term

Base location on real place toprovide more detailsComputerise the game

Teams play in different rooms

Use larger teams

Introduce teams with only oneplayer

Findings Evaluation: Game Logistics

Game Feature

Ease

of

impl

emen

tatio

n

Cos

t of

deve

lopm

ent

Like

lihoo

d of

ch

alle

ngin

g be

havi

ours

Tota

l sco

re

Provide more background information 4 4 2 32

Rearrange team structure 3 4 2 24

Play online 2 2 4 16

Make the game more anonymous 2 4 2 16

Simplify game rules 1 4 3 12

Extend the game 3 3 1 9

Reduce the length of the game 1 4 2 8

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Simplify the game rules

Q2: Research Findings - New Game Problems?

2

2

2 Introduce additionalissues into the game

Introduce a naturaldisaster or tragiccircumstance

External agencyintervention

Findings Evaluation: Game Problems

Game Feature

Ease

of

impl

emen

tatio

n

Cos

t of

deve

lopm

ent

Like

lihoo

d of

ch

alle

ngin

g be

havi

ours

Tota

l sco

re

Introduce additional issues into the game 3 4 3 36

Introduce a natural disaster or tragic circumstance 2 5 3 30

External agency intervention 3 3 3 27

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Natural disasters or tragic occurrences are actually extremely rare in business. So including one would be hard to do and keep the game a realistic simulation of the business environment. The external agency could be introduced as an additional issue e.g. a law suit against a company, a new piece of legislation, a social media campaign.

Prioritising improvements

• Highest scoring potential interventions: Intervention cards to drive

collaboration Introduce additional issues into the

game Provide more background information

• Next steps – design and test Additional interventions – use players

suggestions e.g. external agency Location storyboard – present as part

of introduction

• Pursue opportunities to digitise SSG

Presenter

Presentation Notes

The first opportunity may actually deliver the second and even the third.

Conclusion

• SSG is valued by students as edutainment

• Additional interventions and logistics changes can challenge players’ approach to sustainability throughout SSG Encourage collaboration

and cooperation Challenge business

decision making

Annetta, L.A., Minogue, J., Holmes, S.Y. & Cheng, M. (2009) Investigating the impact of video games on high school students’ engagement and learning about genetics. Computers & Education. [Online] 53(1), pp. 74-85. Available from: http://www.sciencedirect.com

Baytak, A. & Land, S. (2011) An investigation of the artifacts and process of constructing computers games about environmental science in a fifth grade classroom. Educational Technology Research and Development [Online] 59 (6) 765-782. Available from: http://www.ebscohost.com.

Cheong, C., Filippou, J. & Cheong, F. (2014) Towards the Gamification of Learning: Investigating Student Perceptions of Game Elements, Journal of Information Systems Education. [Online] 2 (53) pp. 233. Available from: http://www.ebscohost.com.

Fabricatore, C. & López, X. (2012) Sustainability Learning through Gaming: An Exploratory Study, Electronic Journal of E-Learning. [Online] 10 (2), 209. Available from: http://www.tandfonline.com.

Gee, J.P. (2007) What video games have to teach us about learning and literacy, Rev. and updat edn, Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke; New York.

HEFCE, (2013) Sustainable Development in higher education: consultation on a framework for HEFCE. [Online] Higher Education Funding Council for England Available from: http://www.hefce.ac.uk.

Katsaliaki, K. & Mustafee, N. (2015) Edutainment for Sustainable Development: A Survey of Games in the Field, Simulation & Gaming. [Online] 46 (6) 647. Available from: http://www.sagepub.com.

Nagle A., Wolf, P., Riener, R. & Novak, D. (2014) The Use of Player-centered Positive Reinforcement to Schedule In-game Rewards Increases Enjoyment and Performance in a Serious Game. International Journal of Serious Games. [Online] 1 (4) 35–47. Available from: http://dx.doi.org.

Raines, C. (2002) Managing millennials: connecting generations, the Sourcebook: Generations at Work. Available from: http//:www.gernerationsatwork.com.

Riel, M. & Lepori, K. (2011) A Meta-Analysis of the Outcomes of Action Research. [Online] American Educational Research Association conference, April 2011, New Orleans.

References

http://www.sciencedirect.com/

http://www.ebscohost.com/

http://www.ebscohost.com/

http://www.tandfonline.com/

http://www.hefce.ac.uk/

http://www.sagepub.com/

http://dx.doi.org/

http://generationsatwork.com/

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