Abstract
This paper studies the influence of debriefing in the learning of the participants of business games. Through quasi-experimental study we examined the self-declarations of 112 undergraduate Business Management students undertaking the 8th term, divided into two groups: experimental, exposed to debriefing; and control, not exposed to the debriefing. Mann-Whitney´s tests revealed that the quantum of learning perceived by the members of the experimental group was statistically significantly higher than the members of the control group in seven out of nine learning variables assessed (p < 0.05). The average effect size (d = 0.45) shows an average improvement of 18%. These results suggested that the debriefing positively influence on experiential learning cycle promoted by business games. In the perspective of Kolb's experiential learning cycle (Kolb, 1984), our findings suggest that Reflective observation and Abstract conceptualization stages can be reinforced by subsequent debriefing activities to the simulation rounds, in order to enhance continuous processes of action and reflection of the participants, according to the spiral experiential learning cycle
Highlights
With the support of computer science and theories of learning, business games have become educational alternatives in the teachinglearning process
The result obtained for both samples indicates that the scale used to measure participants’ perception was considered adequate, because it is above the threshold (> 0.6) from which the value is considered appropriate for non-causal studies (Hair et al 2009)
The reflexive observation and abstract conceptualization stages are planned in the perspective of experiential learning, which in relation to business games can be reinforced by debriefing activities after the rounds of the simulation, in order to potentiate continuous processes of action and reflection of the participants, depending on the spiral experiential learning cycle
Summary
With the support of computer science and theories of learning, business games have become educational alternatives in the teachinglearning process. In Brazil, the use of business games is present in almost half of the courses of Business Management, according to Araújo, Brito, Correia, Paiva and Santos (2015). Several studies have demonstrated that business games can contribute to the learning of its participants, many of which are based on the experiential learning theory as theoretical approach, markedly from the experiential learning cycle The experiential learning cycle considers learning as a spiral quadric cycle where people learn through experience, which supports the translation of experiences into concepts, allowing their application in new experiences: concrete experience, abstract conceptualization, reflexive observation and active experimentation (Kolb, 1984).
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