“Game Theory Lab”

Abstract

To exploit the tendency of students to get excited when they have to solve competitive games and introduce them to solve complex problems in real situations, the Departments of Mathematics and Economics of the University of Salerno devised a technological educational project, the Theory of Games Lab (GTL), for high school students. GTL helps students understand an abstract model that requires the use of mathematical analysis in economics, creating an engaging learning environment that improves their performance and rewards cooperative behavior. The choice of games is applied to the construction of a reward-based to engage in class discussions also using educational games sites. Technological artifacts are semiotic mediators in a constructivist approach. With a simulated role-playing game, students are landowners in medieval times and protect their lands by confronting the challenges and needs of other territories. At the end of the activities, the students have a better attitude for critical analysis of economic phenomena and are interested in issues never addressed before.