Simulation-based training as a teaching and learning tool for management education

Abstract

Nowadays the business world is characterized by vertiginous changes making work environments more complex and uncertain. This scenario requires professionals with practical experience. While students and new graduates often gain practical experience through internships or part-time jobs, universities can play an active role in developing the required student skills. Within this context, instruction aimed to promote learning based solely on memorization as a mechanism to ensure cognitive sufficiency is certainly outdated. Simulation-based training (SBT), an active learning methodology, is the approach used in this study. Both surveys and focus groups were performed to assess the impact of SBT on the students’ learning process to understand how productive processes affect business profitability. The sample included students from two cohorts attending a business school. Our results show that this technique is useful in bringing students a step closer to understanding how a company works while interacting in a controlled environment.