Investigating the Use of a Computer Simulation as an Effective Pedagogical Tool for the Application of a Strategic Model

The business policy and strategy course should teach students how to analyze complex problems; lending itself well to experiential learning exercises. There has been considerable debate about the effectiveness of one of the primary experiential techniques, the computer simulation. This research investigates the effectiveness of a computer simulation designed to apply a specific pedagogical strategy model, the Market Movement Model. Results showed that the simulation was an effective tool for teaching students about specific, concrete principles of the theoretical model. But, students were less able to apply the underlying decision criteria required by the theoretical model