The potential of simulations for developing multiple learning outcomes: The student perspective

Abstract

One of the main challenges for higher education study plans in business, management and economics is to go beyond traditional teaching models to foster skills development, and to develop interdisciplinary approaches to enhance education for sustainable development. This article presents an innovative classroom activity for advancing multiple learning outcomes in economics courses, and measures student perceptions about how useful simulations can be to develop these key learning outcomes. It consists of a simulation in which students represent different countries and carry out international exchanges to implement a set of public policies, attempting to improve their overall social and economic performance through the lens of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals. Overall, the findings suggest that students perceived the simulation as a very productive tool to develop multiple learning outcomes. They considered it particularly useful with regard to improving their knowledge acquisition, problem solving, critical thinking and interpersonal skills. They also stated that role-play activities are an effective way to enhance affective-learning outcomes. This simulation is suitable to be implemented in different economics courses, such as international political economy, international economics and other regional economics courses. It could also be adapted to several classroom settings with groups of different sizes.