+44-7897-074717Short Communication - Journal of Research in International Business and Management ( 2023) Volume 10, Issue 1
Received: 31-Jan-2023, Manuscript No. JRIBM-23-88310; Editor assigned: 02-Feb-2023, Pre QC No. JRIBM-23-88310(PQ); Reviewed: 16-Feb-2023, QC No. JRIBM-23-88310; Revised: 18-Feb-2023, Manuscript No. JRIBM-23-88310(R); Published: 25-Feb-2023, DOI: http:/dx.doi.org/10.14303//jribm.2023.003
Engagement forecasts positive education outcomes such as learning and skills development. Business simulation games are linked to skills development, and the flipped classroom is acknowledged as a successful approach for encouraging student-centered learning through engagement. This study investigated the impact of BSGs in a flipped classroom on student engagement, learning achievement, and higher-order thinking skills. A quasi-experimental design was employed in an undergraduate entrepreneurship course. The sample consisted of 48 students in a business university. The flipped classroom was designed for both the control and experimental groups, but the instructional material was implemented using a BSG with the experimental group. The results of quantitative and qualitative analyses indicated that the use of the BSG had positive impacts on behavioural engagement, cognitive engagement, and learning achievement and improved HOTS such as problem-solving, critical thinking, and creativity.
Business Management, Technology, Behavioural engagement
The rapid advancement of information technology has transformed our lives. Students grew up surrounded by media environments such as videos, consoles, and computer games. These games engage players in enjoyable activities. Learning in simulation games is based on theory and applications that need to be applied by students to improve their learning engagement and achievement by involving themselves in real situations (Ahmad et al., 2021). A simulation is a unique and creative tool to increase students' interest in learning. Capable of providing both learners and their teacher with a tool that facilitates active problem-solving, simulation games are considered a practical approach to knowledge acquisition. However, despite the increased use of simulation games in teaching/ learning activities, insight into the use of such games in different contexts is lacking. This may cause hesitancy to integrate simulation games into curricula; moreover, answers to how and why learning occurs in different contexts remain elusive (Branston & Gilmore, 2020).
Researchers have described the benefits of using business simulation games (BSGs) for the manipulation of learning content and the monitoring of the results of such manipulations to help students understand real-world experience and practice. The most common methods allow players to operate a business without risk and enhance student accomplishment by improving learning experiences connected with the development of abilities related to decision-making, teamwork, working under pressure, and adapting to a new scenario. Nowadays, BSGs are used to educate students about a variety of business and management subjects, including international business, strategic management, project management, marketing, and economics. Since its inception in business schools, entrepreneurship education has been centered on real-world application and experiential learning. Moreover, on a more practical level, there is compelling evidence to support business games as a genuine technique of learning. Games incorporate characteristics of urgency, intricacy, trial-and-error learning, and point scoring. Additionally, they promote active, immersive, and problem-based learning. Games provide the contextual relevance of information, are fundamentally student, and provide realtime feedback. According to surveys, students who play the games agree that challenging tasks may be compelling, engaging, and even hilarious when embedded in a story and meaningful context (Owens et al., 2013).
However, the use of BSGs to investigate engagement is a relatively new field of study. Buil argued that BSGs should be designed such that groups of students work together, which promotes engagement. They claimed that being active in the game and having fun are the most critical factors influencing a BSG's success. Engagement involves educational activities and can refer to academic and non-academic aspects of the higher education experience internal components of the construct of engagement are engagement indicators, and the main indicators of engagement are widely accepted to be cognitive, emotional, and behavioural indicators. Student engagement is a crucial aspect of learning and is linked to academic performance (Parra et al., 2018). Student involvement in learning through constructivist learning strategies that engage the students psychologically and behaviourally, such as higher-order thinking skills (HOTS), study effort, and educationally effective behavior. In particular, HOTS are not developed spontaneously; rather, they are developed by participation in educational activities. The degree to which students' active involvement in educational activities that promote high-quality learning is referred to as engagement.
Although researchers have described the positive effects of incorporating simulation games into learning activities, the use of such games to develop work-related information skills while fostering HOTS and engagement has not been adequately researched. However, Springer observed that BSGs create opportunities for students to develop the HOTS required for business success. Enhancing HOTS through teaching and learning is among the educational goals of higher education institutions seeking to prepare students for tomorrow's society (Saide & Sheng, 2020). Creativity, critical thinking as well as problem-solving are examples of HOTS. These abilities have been recognized as critical in preparing students for advancing careers and academic work. HOTS have a factor structure that comprises analysis, synthesis, application, and assessment.
This factor structure helps capture student experiences in a university setting. Students must develop HOTS to function effectively, both academically and professionally. Moreover, HOTS are 21st-century skills, which include the talents necessary for students to prepare for the future. Constructivist ways of learning, such as study habits, HOTS, and participation in educational beneficial actions, are examples of student engagement in learning. Students must be actively engaged in educational activities if they are to strengthen their higher-order thinking skills. Students' levels of engagement in instructional activities are an indicator that high-quality learning is measured by their level of engagement.
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Citation: Weinmann A (2023). Business management in the digital age: How technology is changing the game. JRIBM. 10: 003.
Copyright: © 2023 International Research Journals This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.