We are firm believers in learning by doing. Sometimes, however, 'doing' is too difficult, expensive or impractical and this is when we can turn to games and simulations to help us out. While it is widely accepted that children learn through play, society often seems to forget that adults can also effectively learn through play. With some thought, most games can be used as learning tools, the important distinction being that ensuring effective learning requires an appropriate learning outcome, preparation work, debriefing and reflection afterwards.
Games can be used to teach in four areas:
Knowledge - Games can be used to teach about a scenario or historical theme: not only can a well designed game help people grasp the 'raw facts', but it can also help them understand the dynamics and incentives at work and how they influenced people. The computer game series Civilization is an excellent example of both of these and Civilization 5 is particularly good. It teaches facts about rulers, technology, military units and cities while also letting players explore how culture can influence the course of a nation, how to advance your own religion at the expense of others, use archeologists as geopolitical tools and understand some of the trade offs that rulers have to make. Similarly the board game Twilight Struggle by GMT games is a pretty phenomenal representation of the Cold War, it puts players in a tense game of brinkmanship surrounded by buckets of historical detail.
Tools - Games can also be used to teach people about how to use practical tools in a safe environment, before they have to deploy them for real, where it matters. From an analyst's perspective, games are excellent for teaching people how to use the tools of the trade, but the principal extends to other areas, including people and project management. Intervention, for example can be used to teach the combat estimate process, with players being provided information about the forthcoming battle, given time to carry out the estimate and create a plan, before then having to put it into practice. Various analytical tools will be discussed in future on the BenchTest blog.
Skills - Games can also be used to teach skills such as sales, negotiation, bluffing, problem solving, team working and leadership among others. Snake Oil for instance, can be used as an effective sales training aid when combined with instruction in sales theory and a coaching afterwards in which participants examine their performance and identify where they could have improved. Similarly, the cooperative board game Pandemic can be used to teach team working, problem solving, communication and forward planning - the trainer needs to ensure the learning outcomes are identified and embedded through effective briefing and debriefing discussion.
Attitude - A person's attitude is the hardest characteristic to develop or change, but here too games can play a key role. Games can provide a framework in which people can understand how their behavior affects others. Although role-playing games and matrix games are the obvious candidates where this can take place, other games involving social interaction can also be used. Bohnanza, a German bean growing trading game (best described as a cross between poker and happy families) is an excellent example in which players are forced to cut deals to be effective. After playing, players can be asked to observe and comment on how they interacted with each other during a game and draw out effective and ineffective behavioral examples and how people's attitudes influenced how they played.
Some tips on using games as learning tools...
Selecting the Right Game - There is no point using a game that only tangentially meets the learning objective - The game has to fit your needs, otherwise you are just wasting time. Don't be afraid to adapt a game or select a certain element of it to focus on.
Time - Ensure you have enough time to not only explain the rules and play the game but also to wash up afterwards. Games can be sped up by making use of facilitators who are familiar with the rules, omitting complicated mechanics and giving participants the rules before hand for pre-reading. Roughly 20% of the available time should be spent setting up the activity, 60% on playing and 20% on reflecting afterwards.
After action review / Reflective Learning - While this is usually the most important element for learning, it often becomes an afterthought. especially if the group runs out of time or the facilitator doesn't structure the post activity discussion effectively. The facilitator should attempt to draw out the learning outcomes from the participants and set follow-up work to improve the chances that participants will reflect upon and learn from the activity.