Behavioural Leadership - Organisation Development via Games Based Learning

We have written on this blog for a while. Sorry about that folks. The main reason has been the work that we have been doing on a new venture - Behavioural Leadership.

Behavioural Leadership utilises the latest research into people-centred management using Transactional Analysis and Behavioural Economics. Our Behavioural Leadership approach uses experiential learning and Transactional Learning & Coaching to deliver behavioural breakthroughs.

As you would expect from people who are passionate about games based learning at Behavioural Leadership we use collaborative learning simulations to root the experience in a situation. As we say on our experiential learning page, this creates a rich situation that is far removed from death by PowerPoint and combines visual, auditory AND kinaesthetic approaches to create meaningful and memorable experiences. This multiple learning styles approach is supported by research undertaken by IBM and confirmed by the Post Office discovered that long term recall is affected by how the information was originally delivered. Recall after being told was 10%; told and shown (32%) and told, shown and experienced (65%) – Source Whitmore, 2003.

We present case studies which often involve the use of learning simulations and other technology such as e-Learning. We update these on a regular basis, so our game based learning followers might want to keep an eye out for them.

And finally for those who like their information in blog form, then we might be able to help. At the Behavioural Leadership blog we write about the use of Transactional Analysis and Behavioural Economics in organisational development. And within that context, we discuss experiential learning and in particular learning simulations.

Sugata Mitra – Four Implications for Games Based Learning

I recently listened to a talk by Sugata Mitra at the Education Technology Conference in Leeds.  I am sure you have all come across Sugata Mitra – he is widely known for his Hole in the Wall experiments carried out in India, which the inspired Vikas Swarup to write his debut novel Q & A, which later became the movie Slumdog Millionaire.

By the way Sugata’s talk followed a similar format to one given at TED (Ideas worth Spreading) – Child-driven education, which you can see below.

When listening to Sugata , I was struck by four implications for games based learning: 


1. Generating Interest: Sugata discussed his work with Arthur C. Clarke, who pointed out that “if there is interest, then education happens.” Games based learning can generate a lot of interest. And a lot has been written about games based learning and its ability to motivate and engage learners. I won’t repeat those points here, but what I will say is that games can suffer from being too interesting. Specifically, the design of the game needs to support the learning process – see blog post “Six Key Principles of Collaborative Games Based Learning”.

2. The role of the teacher: Again, quoting Arthur C. Clarke Sugata said that “A teacher that can be replaced by a machine; should be.” It is worth noting that Sugata doesn’t believe that teachers can be replaced (well not yet), but he does believe that teachers shouldn’t be the purveyors of mere information. He believes that is what Google is for. Instead, they should inspire and help pupils analyse what they have found. Teachers can provide scaffolding and expertise, this particularly true in collaborative games based learning products such as games-ED. As game decisions are input into the game (at a class level) the teacher can ask questions such as, “Why did you buy that?” Game reports can be analysed by the students and the teacher – “What worked, what didn’t and how are we going to improve things this round?”

3. The method of the grandmother: Inspiration can come from unusual quarters. Both in experiments in India and Gateshead, Sugata discovered that students could achieve dramatic results (20% increase in test scores) just by being encouraged by an adult – “wow that looks good can you show me again”.  Again, this isn’t to say that teachers aren’t required, but it shows how important inspiration is in the education process. Games based learning can motivate learners by presenting both an interesting narrative and a competitive challenge. The role of the teacher, as previously stated, is to provide scaffolding and expertise, but they should also simply nudge the players along rather like a grandmother. By moving away from rigid traditional instructional method, teachers allow the students to work together to construct their understanding. See blog “Learn by Doing”.

4. The power of collaboration: Key to Sugata’s learning ideas is the power of collaboration. In his experiments, he encourages the students to work in groups of four with one computer. He believes that the key to delivering improved education outcomes is generating conversations. I completely agree and as I written previously in a blog titled “The Art of Conversation”, collaborative games based learning anchors conversations and enables students to learn complex subjects quickly.

Six Key Principles of Collaborative Games Based Learning

1. Create a sense of realism (as opposed to fantasy):

• Provide relevant context that draws the learners into an authentic experience / scenario, so they become part of the learning as opposed to passive recipients.

2. Deliver engaging interaction by means of authentic activities (not just playing for the sake of it).

• Game playing can be a springboard for skills and knowledge, but better still game playing can be the development and practice of skills and knowledge.

3. Group level game play where the goal is collaborative problem solving (as opposed to single player games):

• The learning is inclusive and the game easy to understand, to ensure that everyone participates.

4. Provide an anchor for multiple learning conversations:

• These conversations not the technological interactions should account for the majority the lesson.  
• Dialogue and articulation of knowledge occurs amongst learners (sub-teams), at the class level and can be educator-led. 
• The educator provides a crucial role, rather like the conductor in an orchestra, keeping the process flowing and providing scaffolding and stimulus as and when required.  

5. The technology and design needs to be appropriate:

• The use of a single computer makes the games appropriate for all teaching situations.
• Round-based play allows for natural break points to enable group and reflective learning.
• The teacher uses the computer so that the learning flows and the game doesn't become an exercise in ICT skills.
• The interface, game play and technology need to play second fiddle to the learning. Time spent moving around an interface or world, might add to the contextualisation, but it can also reduce the amount of time spent actually learning. One of the key problem of commercial games is they can take too long to get into.

6. The game needs to work in a learning continuum:

• Games need to be integrated into the curriculum.
• Game play and scores need to feed into an assessment model.
• The games need to inspire follow on activities / exercises and encourage reflection. 

This post is taken from a section in our white paper Games Based Situated Learning which can be found on the resource page of our corporate website.

Learn by Doing AND Learn by Being

I hear and I forget.

I see and I remember.

I do and I understand.

- Confucius

Games Based Situated Learning

Clearly doing is an important aspect of learning and one that is often unappreciated. A robust Games Based Situated Learning Model, though, goes beyond doing. It needs to encapsulate the beingness of a situation.

Games Based Situated Learning is a constructivist learning theory. Learners are immersed in a situation that allows them to explore different perspectives. Indeed, in our games based learning programmes, the whole class play one game, with different sub-teams taking on different roles. The sub-teams need to be true to their mission, but they truly succeed when they negotiate and collaborate to deliver shared goals.

Our Games Based Situated Learning model is built on the interaction of Learn by Doing AND Learn by Being. Plus, it recognises that games need to allow for reflection, that learners need input from teachers and that games need to support assessment. 

1. Learn by Doing (Skills):

• Actions, activity, engagement, team working and so on.

2. Learn by Being (Knowledge):

• Environment, values, attitudes, society, diversity, culture and so on.

3. Reflection, Support and Assessment:

• Learners need to able to reflect and make tacit knowledge explicit. They need to be able to build abstractions.
• Educators (experts) need to guide and nudge learners as and when required.
• Assessment should be built into the programme to provide immediate feedback, but also to stimulate further learning. 

It is through the interaction of the three different aspects of the Games Based Situated Learning Model utilised within games-ED products that wide ranging benefits and learning outcomes are generated.

Recognition of Herrington and Oliver
Note: The above model builds on the work of Herrington and Oliver, who have written extensively on situated learning and multimedia. They suggested that to marry up to the theory, programmes need to:

• Provide authentic context.
• Provide authentic activities.
• Embed expert performances and model processes.
• Provide multiple roles and perspectives.
• Support collaborative construction of knowledge.
• Provide coaching and scaffolding.
• Promote reflection to enable abstractions to be formed.
• Promote articulation to enable tacit knowledge to be made explicit.
• Provide for integrated assessment.