THE LECTURE VS. THE GAME Simulations, Games and Experiential Learning Techniques:, Volume 1, 1974 THE LECTURE VS. THE GAME David J. Fritzsche, Rochester Institute of Technology Learning is obviously enhanced when the student can relate new concepts and words to his present inventory of knowledge and experience. The lecture presents many new concepts and words and normally attempts to relate them to previous discussions. Experience tells us, however, that despite our attempts to provide a well-rounded coverage of the course material in the traditional lecture or lecture discussion class setting, much of the information we present is never received by the student, or if it is received, the information is stored in temporary memory rather than in permanent memory. We are all familiar with the purging process that takes place in temporary memory following the examination. Thus our challenge as educators is twofold: (1) to increase the amount of information placed in student memory and (2) to increase the proportion of this information placed in permanent memory relative to temporary memory. My prescription for meeting this challenge is to get the student actively engaged in the learning process. I have been searching for ways to increase student activism in the learning process for several years. The ideal situation would appear to be to set up each student with a business of his own to run. The student would incorporate the principles learned in the classroom into the business setting. This guided, real life experience would force the student to discover relationships and techniques first hand which are alluded to in the classroom. Unfortunately, we do not enjoy the luxury of unlimited funding at RIT and thus cannot subsidize student run business. However, I am here to report upon what I believe to be a viable alternative which employs a computerized game as a substitute for the actual business enterprise. Of course, the use of the game is not new. However, I believe the way in which it is used is new, and rather exciting. The winter quarter of 1974 provided an excellent opportunity to experiment with the use of a game in the basic marketing course. I was scheduled to teach two sections of Marketing Principles which, of course, provided an experimental and a control group. It should be noted that games per se are not new to the introductory marketing course at RIT. I have utilized a game whenever I have taught the course over the past two years. However, the way in which the game was incorporated into the experimental class was radically different from its previous use. TEST UNITS The two classes were scheduled to accommodate 40 students. Unfortunately as with many plans, enrollment did not occur as scheduled. The control group ended up with 27 students and the experimental group contained 46 students. As the choice of classes was left to the student during registration, I was unable to follow the textbook procedure of randomly assigning the subjects to the two groups. The best I could do was to examine certain characteristics of the classes after they were formed in an effort to determine whether there was actually any initial differences between them. It should be noted that the students were not aware of the difference in classes when they registered for the course. Simulations, Games and Experiential Learning Techniques:, Volume 1, 1974 Nine bits of demographic data were collected from each student for the purpose of testing the equivalency of the two classes. The data consisted of age, transfer status, military status, major, earned credit hours, current course load, employment status, number of previous marketing courses, and cumulative grade point average. The class distribution of each of these variables was compared for the two classes. For each variable the null hypothesis stated that there was no difference between the two classes, with the critical significance level being .05. The results of the tests are shown in Table 1 in the Appendix. Thus, there were no significant differences between the classes for any of the variables with the exception of employment status where a significantly larger number of experimental group students held full-time jobs. THE EXPERIMENT Both the control and the experimental students were required to purchase a text and a readings book for the course. Both classes received a copy of the reading schedule; however, the control group was instructed to read the material prior to coming to class while the experimental group was told that the schedule would serve only as a guide to covering the material they would be held responsible for. Students from both classes were provided a list of concepts they needed to know in order to satisfy the requirements of the course. Both classes were subject to a midterm and a final exam with the examinations being identical for each class. And of course, both classes were taught by the same instructor. At that point, similarities ended. Control Group The control group followed the standard format I have used over the past several years. The initial session is an orientation period setting out the requirements for the course. Subsequent sessions consist of lecture-discussion activity. A session or two is spent introducing the marketing game and forming operating teams. All subsequent activity concerning the game is accomplished outside of class. At the end of the quarter, each team is required to submit a written report of their game activities and to present the report orally to the class. Experimental Group The initial session of the experimental group also began with an orientation period setting out the requirements for the course. The students were informed that there would be no formal lectures in the course with the exception of the time required to introduce the game. The class was organized into eight teams. Each team was instructed to view itself as the automobile division of the Galaxy Motor Corporation, a large multidivision corporation. Each team was required to develop a set of division objectives and strategies which were consistent with the corporation’s objectives as provided by the instructor. Each team was Simulations, Games and Experiential Learning Techniques:, Volume 1, 1974 then charged with operating the division in a manner which was consistent with its stated objectives. The vehicle used to simulate actual market conditions was Louis Boone’s Marketing Strategy. The game requires players to select products, prices, auto dealers, and promotion expenditures for the division as well as to forecast product sales in a changing market. As stated above, the students in the experimental group were given a copy of the essential concepts list. This list was designed to guide them in their study and to give some direction in relating concepts to the game. The experimental group was also given a list of additional marketing texts which they could use to clarify concepts which they did not fully understand after reading the text. Classroom time during the quarter was spent working on the game or briefing corporate headquarters. Each team was required to meet with the corporate marketing vice president, represented by the instructor, in his office once a week. The briefing lasted approximately 15 minutes with the first five minutes devoted to the team explaining their accomplishments over the past class week, two game quarters of play. The teams were encouraged to provide current graphs of the important variables and relationships which would help them explain and understand their division’s operations. The remaining time in the briefing was spent asking the team embarrassing questions relating the application of the essential concepts to the division’s operations. Unanswered questions were unfinished business at the next meeting with the team. The briefing sessions provided close personal contact with the students. A typical class meeting opened with pertinent announcements, if any, and a call for questions. Game decisions were then collected or dispersed depending upon the day. I then went to my office where I met with two teams in succession. The remaining students were free to work with their teams at a location of their choice. After meeting with the teams, I would return to the classroom to answer any questions which arose during the class period. FINDINGS As stated above, the control and the experimental groups were given identical examinations for the midterm and final. The answer sheets for the two classes were intermixed to prevent unconscious bias in grading from influencing the outcome. The distributions of the scores on the exams were compared for significant differences. The results are shown in Table 2 in the Appendix. The experimental group scored higher on both exams, the difference being significant at .05 for the midterm and .01 for the final. Table 2 also includes the final weighted average scores for the two groups which again are significantly different at the .01 level in favor of the experimental group. There may be some bias in this measure, however, as it includes the score each student received on the game and also on class participation. A record of class participation for each student was kept for the experimental section based upon the student’s performance in each of the briefing sessions. Class participation was subjectively obtained via the impression the student made on the instructor for the control group. Simulations, Games and Experiential Learning Techniques:, Volume 1, 1974 In summary, it appears that the game-centered course was more effective than the lecture-centered course in committing information to student memory. To determine whether the information was stored in temporary or permanent memory would require a subsequent examination of the two groups at a later date. I hope to replicate this experiment and if possible conduct such an examination the next time I am scheduled to teach two sections of the principles’ course. I found the experimental group much more fun to teach. I was able to get to know each student by name and, to some extent, by personality. I find this nearly impossible to do in a class of 46 with the traditional approach. The briefing sessions soon revealed the students who were working and the students who were loafing. It was rewarding to see some of the students shift from the latter category to the former as they discovered that they couldn’t make it in the briefing sessions without working. APPENDIX TABLE I COMPARISON OF CONTROL AND EXPERIMENTAL GROUP Demographics Age Control Experimental _ X 21.5 21.6 t=-.1614 S 1.8 3.1 Transfer Status Control Experimental Yes 14 (52%) 21 (46%) X2=.2620 No 13 (48%) 25 (54%) Military Status Control Experimental Veteran 3 (11%) 6 (13%) X2=.0588 Nonveteran 24 (89%) 40 (87$) Simulations, Games and Experiential Learning Techniques:, Volume 1, 1974 TABLE I continued Major Control Experimental Acct. 6 (22%) 21 (46%) X2=6.4476 Bus. Adm. 9 (33%) 14 (30% Food & Ret. 5 (19%) 2 (4%) Non Col. of Bus. 7 (26%) 9 (20%) Credit Hours Control Experimental _ X 108.5 95.1 t=-.9588 S 55.4 58.8 Course Hourse Control Experimental _ X 15.9 16.5 t=-1.2507 S 2.6 1.7 Employment Status Control Experimental Full time 2 (7%) 14 (30%) X2=5.2715* Not full 25 (93%) 32 (70%) Previous Marketing Courses Control Experimental _ X .6 .5 t=.5458 S 1.2 1.1 Cumulative Grade Average Control Experimental _ X 2.804 3.020 t=-1.8243 S .5 .5 *Significant at .01 level Simulations, Games and Experiential Learning Techniques:, Volume 1, 1974 TABLE II COMPARISON OF CONTROL AND EXPERIMENTAL GROUP Grades Midterm Control Experimental _ X 43.0 52.3 t=-2.3629* S 14.3 17.3 Final Exam Control Experimental _ X 43.9 54.7 t=-3.004** S 11.7 16.4 Military Status Control Experimental _ X 51.1 65.0 t=-4.1304** S 16.3 12.2 *significant at .05 level **Significant at .01 level Table of Contents Volume 1, 1974 Long Live Your Business Game Marketing In Action In Collegiate Education How to Create Your Own Business Game with Imaginit The Design, Conduct and Evaluation of a Computerized Management Game as a Form of Experiential Learning Experiential Learning: Conceptualization and Definition The Teaching Potential of a Structured Experience The Lecture versus the Game Tracking the Elective: Student-Goal Oriented Education The Use of Internal and External Assignments with a Marketing Simulation Game Constructing Mini-Courses to Supplement Business Simulations A Video-Tape/Computer Learning Experience A Collective Bargaining Negotiation Simulation: Settle or Strike Simulation in Personnel Administration Introduction to Pablum: A public Administration Game Enrichment of a Multi-Functional Game through Dynamic Overlays and Intensive Decision Analysis An Orientation to the Oklahoma Farm Management Game A Description of INTSTRAT: A Game of Investment Strategy DØG: A Decision Mathematics Game The Use of Production Scheduling Simulation in a Production Planning and Control Course Interactive Gaming: A Production Example Marketing Interaction: A Marketing Management Game ADMAG I: An Advertising Management Game Meeting the Decline in College Enrollments Using the Money Game in the Classroom Training Salesmen with The Sales Management Game Smith Management Game (BUSOP) The Business Game: A New Approach to Managerial Accounting Administration: The Key to a Successful Gaming Experience Simulation: A Frustration, A ‘Game’, or a Meaningful Experience Using Complex Simulations in Policy Courses in Institutions with Limited Resources Flexibility in Simulation Design for Continual Student Motivation A Terminal Keyboard Experience in Executive Gaming Application of Theory and of Computerized Grading in Management Simulation The Executive Education Experience Using the Toronto Management Game Experiences with the Harvard Management Game Managing the Dynamic Small Business Via Simulation The Use of Business Game and a Simulated Stock Exchange in a Business Policy Course Managerial Strategy and Systems - An integrative M.B.A. Course SIMQ, A Business Simulation Game for Decision Science Students: Towards a Total Gaming and Teaching Package The Use of Simulation in a Financial Planning Course Simulation as a Supplementary Learning Experience in Marketing Principles Intercollegiate Business Gaming: The State of the Art Intercollegiate Business Gaming from a Participant's Viewpoint Correlates of Satisfaction, Learning and Success in Business Gaming A Student' s View of Leadership Training with a Two-Level Hierarchy, Two Course Simulation Autocratic versus Democratic Decision Making: The Executive Game as an Experiment Identifying Potential Game Participants Assessment Centers Selection Based on Simulation Business Games in the Process of Management Training in Israel and the United States Evolution and Flexibility in Business Gaming Quantitative Applications of Games Growing Emphasis on Implementation Debits and Credits: First National ABSEL Conference