Simulation-Based Experiential Learning Increased Educational Outcomes for College Students

Simulation-Based Experiential Learning Increased Educational Outcomes for College Students

Introduction

Knowledge Matters’ Case Simulations are designed to provide students an opportunity to apply skills they have learned in lectures to test and refine their knowledge in a low-risk simulated environment in class or remotely. Knowledge Matters’ Case Simulations support a variety of business industries including marketing, hospitality, sports management, restaurant management, entrepreneurship, and more.

Experiential learning has been gaining traction in higher education and is found in many modalities. It not only encourages students to immerse themselves in concepts, it also enables them to learn by doing. According to Susan Ambrose, Senior Vice Provost for Educational Innovation at Northeastern University in Boston, “It’s connecting theory to practice, in a real-world authentic setting, that has real-world constraints and parameters and consequences for decisions and behavior.” 1 Furthermore, exposure and familiarity with navigating high-stakes business decisions creates confidence for students, and is also an appealing skill to future employers. The knowledge that they have attained by working through various scenarios they may encounter after graduation can provide a competitive edge for students as they break into the workforce. “Employers are often looking for students who have had these types of experiences as part of their education, because of the value that comes with having students exposed to real-world problems and working on those problems in real-world situations,” says Matthew Theriot, Associate Provost for Faculty Development and Strategic Initiatives at the University of Tennessee.1

One challenge professors often face is finding educational tools and resources that keep students engaged. According to an August 2022 survey of college students in North America by Wiley “One-fourth of students surveyed suggested that lessons with real-world applications, including those grounded in experiential learning, would improve their engagement.” 2 Simulation-based experiential learning specifically has shown to be key in fostering higher motivation in students. “By promoting direct participation of students in their knowledge building, simulation-based education (SE) incentives intrinsic motivation in the handson learning activities designed by the instructors and developed under their supervision and guidance.” 3

How Do Case Simulations Work?

With Knowledge Matters’ Case Simulations, students form connections between how the content they receive in class lectures translates to situations they’ll face in the real world.

Students take control of their own simulated hotel via their web browser. With vivid, immersive graphics, they run their hotel, learning all the key decisions of managing a successful hotel - front desk, room pricing, sales and marketing, and much more. By engaging students through experiential learning, Case Simulations help students to form connections between course content and future careers. Simulation-based education offers unique benefits to students as they immerse themselves in the course content. “These technological and methodological tools can significantly enrich the learning experience in almost any knowledge area.” 4

Used by colleges and universities across the U.S. and internationally, Case Simulations from Knowledge Matters seamlessly integrate with lectures to put students in charge of their own simulated businesses in a low-risk setting. The online nature of simulations lends well to the changing climate among learning models, student and professor preferences, and adjusting to flexible schedules. Additionally, according to Government Technology “...students have grown increasingly comfortable with taking online courses and adopting new ed-tech tools, a new study from Western Governors University Labs’ College Innovation Network found.” 5

Kapi’olani Community College Implementation Insight

Students from the University of Hawai’i Maui College and Kapi’olani Community College have utilized Knowledge Matters’ Case Simulations-Hotel Collection since 2019 to deepen their knowledge and understanding of the hospitality industry, hotel management, and operations. Within this experiential learning tool, college students were able to control and manage their own full-service simulated hotel.

Dr. Laure Burke, Professor of Hospitality and Tourism Education at Kapi’olani Community College uses Case Simulations in her classes so students can experience how concepts from textbooks and lectures come to life in the simulation, and learn how their actions and decisions can impact outcomes. She empowers students by reinforcing that it is not the computer making the decision during the simulation, but that the computer responds to the choices they make and they are in charge of changing the scenario based on their decisions.

Dr. Burke welcomes a wide range of students with a variety of backgrounds into classes each semester, which she calls “The beauty of the community environment.” At the beginning of each semester, students are asked to provide Dr. Burke with information on their backgrounds such as skills used in past or current jobs, comfort level with technology, etc. into how to best meet the needs of each individual learner and the unique skills and experiences they bring with them, whether they are recent high school graduates, career changers, retired military personnel, or international students still getting familiar with the English language, just to name a few.

For a deeper look into implementation, we take a look into her Supervision & Hospitality Management course. First she establishes groups of students into work teams to complete an assignment. Students within the work teams complete tasks individually and also work together by asking questions of team members, similar to a real-world business environment where an individual contributor has certain responsibilities and will collaborate with colleagues for guidance, support, or insights. Through working together in a team on the simulation, leaders arise in class and students connect beyond how they might in a typical group project. For example, the group environment can foster a comfortable environment for reading comprehension assistance for international students, or technological help for those not familiar with completing simulations in a virtual setting.

Within the Supervision & Hospitality Management class there is a section on staffing. To help students master concepts surrounding how staffing impacts business results, students read chapters on staffing from their textbooks and complete corresponding work, including work in the Case SimulationHotel collection. Dr. Burke adjusts the difficulty level of the simulation based on the background information provided by students and then introduces Case Simulations to the class by showing an introduction video she created that explains how to use the simulation in the context of her course.

"Case Simulations are a great tool for active learning. They offer a real-time analogy where students see instantly how their decisions impact business results.”

- Dr. Laure Burke

One phase of the class is the “Challenge Phase” where Dr. Burke sets the simulation to allow students unlimited attempts to obtain a certain score before submitting the completed simulation. By doing this, she finds that each student can achieve mastery of the concepts and knowing they can always try again, students build confidence to take risks, make mistakes, and then learn from them. After the simulations are complete, Dr. Burke brings all students in the class back together and leads discussions using the provided discussion questions from Knowledge Matters. She scaffolds the discussion based on student comprehension levels and background knowledge to provide everyone an opportunity to share what they have learned.

Students in synchronous and asynchronous online learning settings were surveyed in spring 2022 and indicated a positive result. In fact, 98% of the 164 respondents agreed that by using Case Simulations, their decision-making ability that led to problem solving was enhanced.

For the overall survey, Hospitality and Tourism students from fall 2021 and spring 2022 terms were asked to rate the below questions within a 5-point Likert scale with 1 = strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree, as well as open-ended questions to garner student feedback.

1. I have learned to enhance the effectiveness of real-life factors, situations, and variables in a hotel operation.

2. I have learned to develop problem identification and analytical skills.

3. I explored and applied relevant techniques, behaviors and strategies for working in and/or managing a hotel.

4. I have learned of the reality of hotel operations and consequences to my decisions.

5. The simulation offered a variety of ways for analyzing information objectively and making a reasoned judgment.

6. I believe this simulation covered critical content necessary for the comprehension of hotel management and operations.

7. Overall, I was pleased with the learning experience this simulation provided.

8. What do you believe the benefits of simulations are for students?

9. Please share any comments and reflections about using the case simulations.

The survey results were positive with the majority of scores being 4s and 5s, indicating that the students believe Case Simulations benefited them on their journey to complete coursework in the hospitality management field. These benefits include further development of skills in high demand by employers like analysis, critical thinking, industry operation fundamentals, and problem identification.

University of Hawai’i Maui College and Kapi’olani Community College Student Survey

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This principle holds true within other simulated-based education resources cited outside of the survey as well “As indicated by Chapman and Martin (1995), the use of SE can enhance capabilities such as teamwork, problem-solving, decision making, or critical thinking.” 3

Due to the digital nature of the simulation, students also reported feeling more confident in their computing skills. The open-ended survey questions, #8 and #9, garnered feedback from students and captured their honest impressions of the simulations:

• “Simulations offer a chance to experience real life scenarios that depict true events. It is a faster, and efficient way for practice and learning that helps people understand how they should act in real life situations.”

• “During all the Case Simulations I have done, I have learned quite a lot from them. I was able to improve my decision making, problem solving skills, quantitative skills, and computing skills. These simulations overall, were very interesting and quite puzzling to do which improved my skills more. Thank you for these case simulations!”

• “I thoroughly enjoyed using these Case Simulations and found them to be incredibly interesting and educational at the same time. These simulations allowed me to apply what I have learned to real-life scenarios, which really helped me in further understanding the content that was being taught.”

• “The biggest benefit I see from the simulation is the linking of theory to practice. Running a simulation gives you the opportunity to try things out and practice prior to running and operation “live,” having that opportunity is priceless and builds confidence.”

Excerpts from student responses below reflect that students found the simulations useful, informative, and allowed them further insight into day to day operations within the hospitality industry.

• “This was a great training/learning module because it was interactive and the simulations showed how a restaurant would look in all scenarios.”

• “After completing the first simulation, I learned that the importance in doing the simulations are enhancing your problem-solving and initiating decisions in a fast-paced environment. Although you can redo the simulations, I needed to realize that the decisions I made would affect future situations and guests who checked in/out of the hotel and thus help or hurt the company’s reputation.”

• “The Knowledge Matters simulation has taught me critical thinking skills on how to operate a hotel not only on a computer, but using these skills in the future… I will use this simulation as a learning tool to help me better understand hotel operations in my future career in the hospitality and tourism industry.”

Over 85% of respondents believe this simulation covered critical content necessary for the comprehension of hotel management and operations.

Lesson topics within the Hotel Case Simulation collection are designed for students to gain a deeper understanding of the details involved in running and managing a profitable hotel. By testing out the concepts learned in class, they are able to have immediate feedback on decisions made in the simulated environment and refine processes in areas including staffing, banquets and events, room pricing, restaurant operations, sales and marketing, housekeeping, and more.

• “I really enjoyed how interactive, educational, and entertaining these case simulations were. I definitely learned a lot of information about what it takes to run hospitality businesses and the significance of a manager’s role in decision-making.”

• “What I really liked about Knowledge Matters was that it provided vast cases that give us different perspectives in the industry and teach us how to be a leader in those designated areas. This definitely helped me understand how to staff my employees on days that would require more help and how that would help with guest satisfaction as well!”

Review

Students and professors alike enjoy using simulation-based experiential learning tools due to the combination of mastering fundamental concepts with the element of gamification. Learning happens as students immerse themselves in the content and take ownership of making business decisions that directly impact the outcome of virtual profitability and success. University of Hawai’i students have reported success and enjoyment while interacting with Case Simulations in a remote learning setting and as the higher education sector continues to advance virtual learning options, more students will be able to experience the benefits. In fact, University Business reported “...with students indicating that virtual learning can offer an effective learning environment, now is the time to further invest in elevating the virtual student learning experience.” 6

By taking on the role and responsibilities of managing and running a simulated hotel in Case Simulations, students are learning by doing and putting the skills learned into real-world applications for high-demand occupations. According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, average mean age for Management Occupations within the Traveler Accommodations industry is $83,970. 7

$83,970

Average mean wage for Traveler Accommodation-Management Occupations

The Hotel Case Simulation Collection by Knowledge Matters collection was developed in partnership with the J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation to provide students with realistic scenarios they may encounter in the hospitality industry. In the low-risk virtual setting, students have the ability to test their knowledge, make mistakes and learn from them, and get a hands-on idea of what it is really like to have a career in the hospitality industry. This type of experiential learning can help students narrow their focus before entering the workforce and gain confidence in decision making.

Sources Cited*:

1. Moody, J. What You Should Know About Experiential Learning in College. (2019) U.S.News & World Report. Retrieved from https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/2019-04-25/what-you-should-knowabout-experiential-learning-in-college

2. Alonso, J. To Fight Student Disengagement, Real-World Projects Can Help. (2023) Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved from https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2023/02/13/fight-student-disengagement-real-world-projects-canhelp

3. Campos, N., Nogal, M., Caliz, C., Juan, A. Simulation-based education involving online and on-campus models in different European universities. (2020) International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education. Retrieved from https://educationaltechnologyjournal.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s41239-020-0181-y

4. Juan, A., Loch, B., Daradoumis, T., Ventura, S. Games and simulation in higher education. (2017) International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education. Retrieved from https://educationaltechnologyjournal. springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s41239-017-0075-9

5. Paykamian, B. (2022). Student Survey Finds Online Learning Experiences Improving. Government Technology. Retrieved from https://www.govtech.com/education/higher-ed/student-survey-finds-online-learning-experiencesimproving

6. Ward, M. The Pandemic May Have Ended But The Demand For Edtech Is Growing. (2022) University Business. Retrieved from https://universitybusiness.com/the-pandemic-may-have-ended-but-the-demand-for-edtech-isgrowing/

7. United States Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2021) May 2021 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates: NAICS 721100 - Traveler Accommodation. Retrieved from https://www.bls.gov/oes/ current/naics4_721100.htm#11-0000

* This list contains interactive links to articles cited in this study. Please click on a link to see the full details of the publications.