The role of the instructor in business games: a comparison of face‐to‐face and online instruction

Abstract

This study analyses the role of the instructor in the e-learning process fostered by a business game. To achieve this objective, a comparative analysis was conducted with two groups of students regarding their perceptions of the instructor's role in a business game. The first group was composed of 33 participants and facilitated by an instructor in a face-to-face process. The second group was composed of 23 participants and facilitated by the same instructor online. Our results indicate that the students' assessment of the role of the instructor is clearly different in both cases: the face-to-face group valued the relevance of the instructor's role in the learning process more highly than the online group. Our findings also highlight the importance of the instructor's role in improving the students' learning experience and suggest that extra efforts by online instructors are needed to maximize the e-learning process through business games in management training.

The effect of competences on learning results an educational experience with a business simulator

“…However, it has also revealed a series of major issues arising from the use of these kinds of business simulators, since the greater autonomy, greater amount of information and practical situations created by these games do not necessarily lead to improved, more effective learning processes for students (Proserpio & Gioia, 2007;Stouten, Heene, Gellynck, & Polet, 2012). Indeed, if the games' beneficial characteristics are not properly managed and administered by instructors, these features can end up creating attitudinal problems in students, who might see the games as a less worthy learning experience (Hernández, Gorjup, & Cascón, 2010) in which they have simply developed a decision-making process at random, without really understanding the context or properly analysing information (Fitó-Bertrán et al, 2014;Stouten et al, 2012).…”

Evaluation of simSchool: An Instructional Simulation for Pre-Service Teachers

“…For the purposes of this article, the learner is defined as a user who engages in a simulation for the purposes of learning. Frequently reported advantages of instructional simulations include active participation of the learner, immediate feedback, learning from experience, increased metacognition, and improved decision-making strategies (Aldrich, 2005;Hernandez, Gorjup, & Cascon, 2010;Kolb & Kolb, 2009). They support learning by teaching complex tasks in an environment that simulates a real-world context (Reigeluth & Schwartz, 1989).…”

Do business games foster skills? A cross-cultural study from learners' views

“…100-101). These two scenarios of power distance contribute to the open debate in the literature of business games regarding the functions and usefulness of instructors, whose presence in the classrooms could be totally or partially substituted by ICTs (Hernández et al, 2010).…”

“…Student learning is defined in terms of continuous assessment of student workload, learning by doing and the acquisition of skills, broadening the teaching dimension of higher education and approaching it from a wider perspective instead of just as the mere transmission of theoretical knowledge (Traver & García, 2006). In this new model, the university teacher becomes a driving force for these changes, facilitating the teaching-learning process and developing a collaborative role with the student (Benito, 2009;Hernández, Gorjup & Cascón, 2010). The training process developed at the university places the student in the starring role, making them responsible for building their own knowledge and competency profile.…”