TY - JOUR
T1 - Simulation Gaming Can Strengthen Experiential Education in Complex Infrastructure Systems
AU - McBurnett, Lauren R.
AU - Hinrichs, Margaret M.
AU - Seager, Thomas
AU - Clark, Susan Spierre
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This material is based upon work supported by the Office of Naval Research NEPTUNE program, and by the National Science Foundation under Grant Award 1323401 and 1441352.
Funding Information:
The authors would like to thank the Arizona State University Decision Theater for use of their facilities and a special thanks to Madeline Sawyer and Greg Moon for their contributions to developing the model and software that drive the LA Water Game. This research was approved by the Arizona State University Institutional Review Board. The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This material is based upon work supported by the Office of Naval Research NEPTUNE program, and by the National Science Foundation under Grant Award 1323401 and 1441352.
Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2018.
PY - 2018/12/1
Y1 - 2018/12/1
N2 - Background Despite federal directives to strengthen the resilience of critical infrastructure systems, existing education programs have not kept pace with ambitious policy goals. As post-war infrastructure ages, it is increasingly necessary for graduates to master systems thinking to understand the complex and interdependent nature of infrastructure. Whereas in traditional physical science and engineering courses, learning would take place in laboratory exercises, the scale and criticality of infrastructure present obstacles to experimental and experiential learning activities. Aim This article describes the experience of an educational simulation game, called the LA Water Game, to teach management of ageing water infrastructure as a complex socio-technical system. Method A total of over 200 participants in 16 workshops completed an introductory lecture, experimental scenario development, experiential game play, and participated in reflective group discussion. Qualitative data was collected during game play and debriefing interviews and was used to assess participant learning outcomes. Results Participant feedback affirmed that simulation gaming can reinforce the experimental, experiential, and reflective phases of the Kolb Learning Cycle. Subjects displayed cognitive and affective engagement, intrinsic motivation, and often reported improved understanding of complex systems attributes, including interdependencies, feedback loops, nonlinearity, and stochasticity.
AB - Background Despite federal directives to strengthen the resilience of critical infrastructure systems, existing education programs have not kept pace with ambitious policy goals. As post-war infrastructure ages, it is increasingly necessary for graduates to master systems thinking to understand the complex and interdependent nature of infrastructure. Whereas in traditional physical science and engineering courses, learning would take place in laboratory exercises, the scale and criticality of infrastructure present obstacles to experimental and experiential learning activities. Aim This article describes the experience of an educational simulation game, called the LA Water Game, to teach management of ageing water infrastructure as a complex socio-technical system. Method A total of over 200 participants in 16 workshops completed an introductory lecture, experimental scenario development, experiential game play, and participated in reflective group discussion. Qualitative data was collected during game play and debriefing interviews and was used to assess participant learning outcomes. Results Participant feedback affirmed that simulation gaming can reinforce the experimental, experiential, and reflective phases of the Kolb Learning Cycle. Subjects displayed cognitive and affective engagement, intrinsic motivation, and often reported improved understanding of complex systems attributes, including interdependencies, feedback loops, nonlinearity, and stochasticity.
KW - LA Water Game
KW - and systems thinking
KW - complex systems
KW - critical infrastructure
KW - experiential learning
KW - simulation games
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U2 - 10.1177/1046878118767729
DO - 10.1177/1046878118767729
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85058539896
SN - 1046-8781
VL - 49
SP - 620
EP - 641
JO - Simulation and Gaming
JF - Simulation and Gaming
IS - 6
ER -