Wargaming Preferences: How Participating in Educational Wargames Changes Student Preferences on Learning

Abstract

Educational wargaming has shown its clear value in the classroom, leading to deeper and more long-lasting learning. Yet, it is unclear how students respond to the use of games in the classroom and whether they perceive them to have educational value above and beyond “having fun.” This study of the War at Sea wargame at the U.S. Naval War College provides evidence that students see wargaming as a valuable learning activity, that they consider it appropriate for the PME environment, and that participating in a wargame makes them more likely to want to learn via wargames in the future. These findings provide evidence in support of the ongoing effort to increase wargaming in professional military education (PME) curriculum, and suggest that early exposure to wargames creates buy-in among students that can be harnessed throughout their careers.