Enhancing Simulation Learning With Team Mental Model Mapping

Abstract

Simulations have been developed for many business courses because of enhanced student engagement and learning. A challenge for instructors using simulations is how to take this learning to the next level since student reflection and learning can vary. This article describes how to use a conceptual mapping game at the beginning and end of a simulation as an instructional scaffold that encourages students to reflect on the connections between their decisions and the outcomes in the simulation. Asking student simulation teams to create team mental maps enhances discovery and learner-directed learning and is supported by research finding that group debriefing methods are best for group-level activities.