Treatment of an Anonymous Recipient

Abstract

This study developed a game simulation based on problem solving in the management of urban waste. We then investigated the factors affecting the decisions made by players. During gameplay, the players sought to guide the development of a city via management strategies involving a balance of economic growth and environmental protection. Nature served as an anonymous recipient of the pollution caused by the actions of players. Within a very limited time period, the players had to determine the degree to which they could conserve nature, learn the limits of growth, and develop insight into the dynamic operations necessary to manage a clean city. It was found that the 34 Taiwanese undergraduate students valued economic growth highly and were willing to sacrifice nature for the sake of progress. In contrast, 35 students from Taiwanese elementary schools tended to strive for a balance between conserving nature and promoting economic growth through the building of sustainable houses that produce less pollution. However, this led to an inappropriate allocation of resources, embodying a self-interested ethos. This game taught players about the costs associated with waste processing as well as the values of fairness and reciprocity, particularly with regard to resource utilization and solid-waste management.

Using Game-based Learning to Facilitate Attitude Change for Environmental Sustainability

“…Games are suitable for sustainability-related foundational courses offered in K-12, as well as for programmes offered in higher education (Bell, 2016), because they are different from conventional teaching models which merely provide cognitive knowledge about environmental issues (Hungerford & Volk, 1990). Several studies have shown that games are effective in producing attitude and behaviour changes towards the environment (Knol & De Vries, 2011;Nordby et al, 2016;Tan & Biswas, 2007;Wu & Huang, 2015;Yang, Chien, & Liu, 2012). These studies are discussed in the following sections.…”

“…But in the virtual environment of games, players can test their ideas in a safe zone, try alternatives and not be afraid of making mistakes (Knol & De Vries, 2011). The realworld scenarios in games enable learners to view the consequences of their actions immediately (Wu & Huang, 2015), which gives meaningful practice before they face the real action (Butler, 1988). 'Knowledge of ecological processes and situations can influence hearts and minds, but concrete change plans are more effective at changing muscles', stated Arbuthnott (2009, p. 155), referring to the three components of attitude, namely, cognitive, affective and behavioural.…”

“…Games that use real-world scenarios have been successful in creating self-awareness of energy conservation practices (Yang, Chien, & Liu, 2012), creating awareness of balanced ecosystems and ecological processes (Tan & Biswas, 2007) and taking action towards environmental protection and recycling (Wu & Huang, 2015). The real-world scenarios in games are contextual and representative of the interconnectedness that exists in real-life environments.…”

“…According to Fabricatore and López (2012), the 'complexified' systems in digital games create a 'spirit of inquiry' to explore different scenarios and give learners the ability to face uncertainty, accept failure and think about alternate strategies, which are critical skills for making sustainability-related decisions. This idea was leveraged by Wu and Huang (2015) who designed a game based on problem-solving in the management of urban waste and examined the factors that affected decisions made by the two learner groups: elementary school students and undergraduate students. Learners had to guide the development of a city in the game by applying management strategies, balancing economic growth and environmental protection, in addition to considering the pollution that could be caused by their actions.…”

“…Moreover, because they can be played individually and collectively, games are appropriate in ESE. Games can create virtual social societies for learners to practise their behaviours (Gee, 2007), where the actions of opponents and other decisionmakers produce challenges in ways similar to real life (Wu & Huang, 2015), creating a complex interconnected system. Also, massive online gaming environments enable collective engagement to reach common goals as required in sustainability education within complex systems (Fabricatore & López, 2012).…”