Gamification (could be Experiential Learning as well)
This is for a college level strategic management course. In groups students run a business simulation where they come up with a comprehensive strategy for a company and run various functions of the organization. They are competing with other groups of students running their companies in the same market space. “Annual” reports show the progress of the company/students. This a gamification element similar to scoring points (see Dinia, 2023)
Formative assessment would be in the form of multiple-choice knowledge checks (aka “low-stakes quizzing” (Morris, et al., 2021)) over key concepts in the simulation (for minimal points and can be retaken up to 5 times each).
A summative assessment would be an online presentation at the end of the simulation/course (Pappas, 2024) describing how the group’s company performed.
Authentic assessment would come in the performance results in the simulation over the “years” it is run. (It is iterative) The simulation attempts to provide real-world scenarios that require higher order thinking, for which there is no one right answer (see Authentic Assessment, n.d.). It is student centered in that the students are making the decisions in the simulation on their own and allows them to incorporate insights they have learned in the past.
The primary learning theory driving this learning opportunity is constructivism. There are group/social dynamics to solve problems (see Bates, 2022) with no one right solution. The students bring their backgrounds/experiences (see Bates, 2022) from their various majors to bear in constructing the knowledge to run the company. A form of scaffolding also occurs in that the instructor would provide more guidance and tips prior to and in the beginning of the simulation and less toward the end (see McLeod, 2024).
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Authentic Assessment. (n.d.). New Jersey Institute of Technology. https://www.njit.edu/ite/authentic-assessment
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Bates, T. (2022). Teaching in a Digital Age: Guidelines for designing teaching and learning (3rd ed.). Tony Bates Associates Ltd. https://pressbooks.bccampus.ca/teachinginadigitalagev3m/
Dinia, I. (2023, January 22). How To Use Gamification In eLearning For Maximum Engagement and Effectiveness. ELearning Industry. https://elearningindustry.com/how-to-use-gamification-in-elearning-for-maximum-engagement-and-effectiveness
McLeod, S. (2024, February 1). Zygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development and Scaffolding Theory. SimplyPsychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/zone-of-proximal-development.html
Morris, R., Perry, T. & Wardle, L. (2021, August 27). Formative assessment and feedback for learning in higher education: A systematic review. Bera. https://bera-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/rev3.3292
Pappas, C. (2024, January 9). Summative Assessment In eLearning: What eLearning Professionals Should Know. eLearning Industry. https://www.splashlearn.com/blog/what-makes-summative-assessment-powerful-tool-for-teachers/