Effectiveness Of Simulation Games Research Articles

Effects of Simulation Games on students’ Computational Thinking and Game Experience for Programming Courses in Primary School

There is substantial evidence that incorporating interactive environments for game-based instruction has a significant potential to support the development of computational thinking and programming skills in primary education students. However, it is not clear whether a simulation game (SG) with different user interface elements, created via three-dimensional (3D) virtual worlds and visual programming environments to project various problem-solving exercises in a simulated reality, can significantly influence students to think and practice "computationally" their solution plans into code. The current study aims to identify any possible added value of each instructional approach by measuring students’ game experience and learning performance. This quasi-experimental study involved ninety participants (n = 90) aged between 10 and 11 years that consisted of two comparison conditions. The experimental group (n = 45) received training using OpenSimulator in combination with Scratch4SL, whereas the control group (n = 45) was trained using Scratch. The findings indicate considerable differences in students’ game experience and satisfaction, but no statistically significant difference in their learning performance and knowledge gain was identified. This study provides several design implications for user interface and game elements to inform educational practitioners and instructors about the benefits that each approach can offer students for better knowledge acquisition and deeper disciplinary understanding.

The Effectiveness of Simulation Games in Improving Interpersonal Communication among the Scouts of SMAN 1 Wanadadi Banjarnegara

A game simulation can help to improve interpersonal communication skills when the game involves interaction in groups. The lack of communication between the scouts of SMAN 1 Wanadadi Banjarnegara results in activities not running as planned. This study aimed to investigate how interpersonal communication among these scouts could be improved through simulation games. The study employed an experimental method with a quantitative approach and pre-experimental design. The research subjects included nine scouts with the lowest level of interpersonal communication skills. The results showed that there was a difference in the scouts’ interpersonal communication before and after the simulation games were implemented. The average score of the scouts’ interpersonal communication was higher after they played the simulation games (106.67 > 94.33), and this difference was statistically significant. This showed that there was a significant increase in the interpersonal communication skills of scouts after they participated in the simulation games.
 Keywords: interpersonal communication, simulation games

The Effects of Computer-Based Simulation Game and Virtual Reality Simulation in Nursing Students' Self-evaluated Clinical Reasoning Skills.

Research has shown that nursing students can learn clinical reasoning skills by engaging in simulation games. However, there has been no research regarding the effects of simulation games on clinical reasoning skills when nursing students also engage in virtual reality simulations. Furthermore, by engaging in simulation games, neither game metrics nor their impact on students' self-evaluated clinical reasoning skills has been studied. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of these two kinds of simulation games using a one-group pretest-posttest design. Forty nursing students self-evaluated their clinical reasoning skills in three phases using the Clinical Reasoning Skills scale. Furthermore, the game metrics of the simulation games were analyzed, and the results clearly showed that students' self-evaluated clinical reasoning skills were systematically improved. There was a systematic association between better playing scores and better self-evaluated clinical reasoning skills in playing both kinds of simulation games. Moreover, students engaged more time in the virtual reality simulation than the computer-based simulation game. Overall, the results suggest that the use of a combination of both kinds of simulation games is an effective way for nursing students to learn clinical reasoning skills.

What do students learn from political simulation games? A mixed-method approach exploring the relation between conceptual and attitudinal changes

In civic education and political science classes, simulation games are increasingly recognised as a teaching tool to promote active learning, expecting them to enhance participants’ motivations and to convey transferable knowledge and skills. Furthermore, they have been described as a promising teaching approach with regard to the complex multi-level system of the European Union (EU). Empirical studies have underlined positive effects of simulation games; however, they usually either use purely qualitative or very small-N quantitative approaches. More systematic studies conducted recently didn’t focus on causes of the measured effects and have lacked depth due to a closed items design. The study presented here uses a mixed-method approach, analysing the effects of simulations of European Parliamentarian decision-making conducted with secondary school classes in Germany on students' political knowledge, motivations and attitudes. In addition to a standardised questionnaire with pre- and post-tests (N = 308), qualitative interviews were conducted (n = 12). The paper focuses on the relation between participants' conceptual changes and changes in perceived responsiveness of the EU. The results highlight relevant learning effects students experience in EU simulation games that are not yet captured appropriately by questionnaire studies and can stimulate the development of measurement tools for assessing process-oriented learning outcomes more adequately.

The effect of simulation games on learning computer programming: A comparative study on high school students’ learning performance by assessing computational problem-solving strategies

Computer games are quickly gaining momentum by enabling new approaches to teaching and learning experience for programming courses in K-12 curriculum. However, it remains unclear if the game interface and elements created by using three-dimensional (3D) virtual worlds combined with visual programming languages or a visual programming environment can affect students’ learning performance. This quasi-experimental study presents evidence about how a game can assist boys and girls to gain a greater understanding on skills related to CT for developing, implementing and transforming their solution plans into code based on their computational problem-solving strategies. A total of fifty (n = 50) high school students who volunteered to participate in this study divided into a control group (n = 25) and an experimental (n = 25) group that used Scratch and OpenSim with the Scratch4SL palette, respectively to propose their solutions for the same problem-solving tasks via a simulation game. The study findings indicate substantial differences and important points of view about students’ learning performance by assessing their computational problem-solving strategies. Students from the experimental group performed significantly better both in measures of problem-solving and algorithmic thinking. Mean scores on post-questionnaires from the experimental group revealed improvements higher than their control group counterparts in two aspects. First, students of the former group created more complete computational instructions with rules to be specified and delivered the learning goals. Second, students of the same group proposed and applied more correct computational concepts and practices in code. Finally, this study discusses the implications for designing learning experiences using OpenSim with Scratch4SL.

Zastosowanie gier symulacyjnych w kształceniu w zakresie współczesnych koncepcji zarządzania

The article presents the results of research into the effects of simulation games used in a university course on contemporary management concepts. Aside from a review of the literature, the article’s key findings come from a survey of 142 full-time students in academic years 2014/2015 and 2015/2016. The basic issues surrounding simulation games for education are briefly described and two games used in the study are presented in the first part of the article. The most important results of the questionnaire, along with an interpretation of them, are presented in the further sections. Recommendations on how to use simulation games in the teaching process at universities conclude the paper.

The Effect of a Simple Simulation Game on Long-Term Vocabulary Retention

Recent studies have shown that simulation games may be useful tools for supporting foreign language education. However, much of this research has focused on games using 3D graphic technology, which entail technical requirements that may render them too complex for use in many educational contexts. Accordingly, we wanted to determine if less complex simulation games could also support the acquisition of a foreign language. We conducted a quasi-experiment using whole classes comprising EFL learners at a Japanese university. A treatment group used an online vocabulary learning application (Quizlet) in conjunction with a simple simulation game (3rd World Farmer), and a control group used the vocabulary learning application alone. Although using the simulation game showed no short-term benefit, the treatment group outperformed the control group on a delayed post test administered 11 weeks after treatment. We conclude that the effect of simulation games can be used in foreign language learning to improve long-term retention of target language vocabulary.

CALL in the Form of Simulation Games: Teaching English Vocabulary and Pronunciation through Sims

When discussing the current state of art with regard to the use of new technologies in foreign and second language learning one thing is blinking sharply: Simulation Games. Simulator games have prepared a great pedagogical context for young sailors and mariners. The importance of creating pedegugical context for sailors and mariners to learn English as a second or foreign language is the essence of this study. Simulation games show potential not just for engaging and entertaining users, but also in promoting language learning. In this research we survey the effect of simulation Games on sailor and mariners’ English vocabulary and pronunciation learning of Khoramshahr Navy University. The results clearly showed that these kinds of games have a significant impact of learners, especially when they learn English as ESP like the sailors and mariners.

The effect of simulation games on the learning of computational problem solving

Simulation games are now increasingly applied to many subject domains as they allow students to engage in discovery processes, and may facilitate a flow learning experience. However, the relationship between learning experiences and problem solving strategies in simulation games still remains unclear in the literature. This study, thus, analyzed the feedback and problem solving behaviors of 117 students in a simulation game, designed to assist them to learn computational problem solving. It was found that students when learning computational problem solving with the game were more likely to perceive a flow learning experience than in traditional lectures. The students’ intrinsic motivation was also enhanced when they learned with the simulation game. In particular, the results of the study found a close association between the students’ learning experience states and their problem solving strategies. The students who perceived a flow experience state frequently applied trial-and-error, learning-by-example, and analytical reasoning strategies to learn the computational problem solving skills. However, a certain portion of students who experienced states of boredom and anxiety did not demonstrate in-depth problem solving strategies. For instance, the students who felt anxious in the simulation game did not apply the learning-by-example strategy as frequently as those in the flow state. In addition, the students who felt bored in the simulation game only learned to solve the problem at a superficial level.

The Effectiveness of Simulation Games in Geography Teacning

The Effectiveness of Simulation Games in Geography Teacning

Effects of simulation game and cognitive style on students' achievement in integrated science

The study determined the effects of simulation game-assisted instruction and cognitive style on students' achievement in Integrated Science. It adopted a 2 x 2 non-randomized pre test, post test, control group quasi-experimental design in which the treatment, at two levels (simulation game-assisted instruction, teacher instruction only) was crossed with cognitive style at two levels (analytical, non-analytical).The subjects were 305 Junior secondary III students selected from three co-educational schools in Akinyele Local Government Area of Oyo State, Nigeria. Three valid and reliable instruments were used for data collection: Integrated Science Achievement Test (ISAT), Cognitive Style Test (CST) and Operational Guide for Instruction (OGI). The study, which lasted for six weeks, involved exposing the students in the experimental group to three types of simulation games (water pollution game, chemical symbol, equation and formulae), while those in the control were not exposed to any game, but were rather taught in the conventional way. Data analysis involved the use of analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) and scheffe multiple range test as post hoc measures. The results showed a significant main effect of cognitive style (F (1,300)=23.545;p ) on achievement in Integrated science. The results revealed that analytical students achieved higher than their non-analytical counterparts. There was no significant main effect of treatment (F (1,300)=2.090;p>0.05 ) on Integrated science achievement. There were also significant interaction effect of treatment and cognitive style (F (1,300)=12.704;p ) on Integrated science achievement. The implications of these findings for curriculum planning, teacher training and in-service programmes, development of curriculum materials and classroom practice were discussed. African Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology and Sport Facilitation Vol. 6 2004: 68-76

Teacher's workshop in death education: The effects of simulation game and bibliotherapy-oriented methods

Abstract A study to assess the differential impact of two death education strategies introduced within a workshop format was conducted with thirty five elementary school teachers. Participants were randomly assigned to either a simulation or a bibliotherapy-oriented strategy group. The participants' ratings yielded no significant differences between strategies. Further analysis revealed a differential impact: the simulation group reported significantly more discussion of death education and death-related topics with colleagues during the two weeks following the workshop, whereas the bibliotherapy group reported significantly greater gains in information, motivation to look up further information both on children and death-related issues, and discussion of death-related issues with friends who are not colleagues. The implications of these findings, plus additional information and subjective reports collected during a later “booster session”, are discussed.

The effect of simulation games and worksheets on learning of varying ability groups in a high school biology classroom

AbstractHigh school biology students who were taught by the simulation game method had comparable achievement gains to the students who were taught using worksheets. The three simulation games used in this study were able to teach factual information as well as the worksheet activities. This effect was constant across ability and sex. There were no significant differences in the retention scores of high ability students utilizing gaming. Also, there was no significant difference in the scores of low ability students utilizing worksheets and low ability students using games. Students' sex was significantly related with retention in the three‐way interaction of treatment by ability by sex. Low ability females using simulation games scored higher on retention than low ability females utilizing worksheets. Low ability males utilizing worksheets scored higher on retention than low ability males using simulation games.

Comparative Effectiveness of Simulation Games in Secondary and College Level Instruction: A Meta-Analysis

Comparative Effectiveness of Simulation Games in Secondary and College Level Instruction: A Meta-Analysis

The Influence of Student Characteristics on the Effectiveness of Simulations in the Principles Course

Finding weaknesses in the designs of earlier research projects dealing with the effectiveness of simulation games, Fraas has developed a different approach to evaluating this teaching technique. This article reports on a controlled experiment in which the hybrid TUCE was used to measure the knowledge of experimental and control groups. Fraas hypothesized that “some types of students do better when taught by lecture-discussion.” He concluded that the “effectiveness of each method of instruction depends on certain student characteristics …” These characteristics are identified, and his research model is explained.

The Effects of Simulation Games and Creativity Training On Children's Divergent Thinking

The Effects of Simulation Games and Creativity Training On Children's Divergent Thinking