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Journal of Education for Business

ISSN: 0883-2323 (Print) (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/vjeb20

Answers, Questions, and Deceptions: What Is the
Role of Games in Business Education?
Jay A. Azriel , Margaret J. Erthal & Ervin Starr
To cite this article: Jay A. Azriel , Margaret J. Erthal & Ervin Starr (2005) Answers, Questions,
and Deceptions: What Is the Role of Games in Business Education?, Journal of Education for
Business, 81:1, 9-13, DOI: 10.3200/JOEB.81.1.9-14
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.3200/JOEB.81.1.9-14

Published online: 07 Aug 2010.

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Answers, Questions, and Deceptions:
What Is the Role of Games in
Business Education?
JAY A. AZRIEL
SETON HALL UNIVERSITY
SOUTH ORANGE, NEW JERSEY

MARGARET J. ERTHAL
ILLINOIS STATE UNIVERSITY
NORMAL, ILLINOIS

ERVIN STARR
ROBERT WESLEYAN COLLEGE
ROCHESTER, NEW YORK

ABSTRACT. Those who teach in

T

come under attack. Educators are
becoming increasingly critical of standard classroom pedagogy (Becker &
Watts, 1995). Frequently the traditional
lecture method is described as monomial and stimulating for only the auditory
senses (Sternberger). Evidence suggests
that interactive teaching methods work
better than traditional lecture methods
(Philpot & Peterson, 1998; Sternberger). Interactive methods include studentled discussions, student presentations
on course-relevant topics, and guest
speakers.

colleges and universities are often
faced with large class sizes and a
diverse student population. To reach
this diverse student population, educators are finding it necessary to incorporate new teaching practices. In this article, the authors examine the use of a
television game show, Jeopardy, as a
means of enhancing learning. The
researchers discovered that games
motivate students to actively participate
in the learning process, encourage
teamwork, and are as good as traditional means for reviewing management
theories and vocabulary. Students
reported that the use of games was an
appropriate method of instruction that
facilitated their learning. Students also
indicated an overall preference for a
participatory course and viewed other
students as actively participating when
games were used in courses.

wo important trends are reshaping

college and university teaching.
First, student bodies are becoming
increasingly diverse. Classes are filled
with students from various economic,
social, and ethnic backgrounds. The
growing demand for an education will
continue to draw people from all ethnic
and socioeconomic groups to the classroom. In addition, lifelong learning has
become a popular trend as the demands
of the workplace become more complex. This has increased the enrollment
of nontraditional students, students
older than 24 years, at postsecondary
institutions around the country. As the
demographics of our nation’s populace
and workplace demands continue to
change, so too will the learners who
enter our classrooms. Successfully educating such a diverse student population
will depend on educators adapting to
individual differences among learners
(Corno & Snow, 1986; Sternberger,

1995). Regardless of age or economic,
ethnic, or social background, people
understand the language of play. Thus,
games are ubiquitous, as is the atmosphere of competition, enthusiasm, and
engagement that surrounds them. This
is evidenced by game shows, entertainment through televised sports events,
and reality TV. Second, despite the
widespread use of large lecture courses,
the traditional role of professor-as-lecturer and student-as-note-taker has

Purpose
The purpose of this research was to
examine the effectiveness of using a
popular game as part of the teaching
pedagogy. We sought to further the
understanding of the role that gaming
plays in the educational process. The
overall research question was, “Do
games make a difference in student
learning and attitudes toward learning?”

Specific research questions were: (a) Do
games affect students’ attitudes toward
learning? (b) Do games affect student
achievement? and (c) Are reviews that
incorporate games more effective than
traditional lecture reviews when preparing students for an exam?
In this study, we report the results of
an experiment that we conducted to discover if using games in the classroom is
September/October 2005

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an effective way of preparing students
for examinations. At the end of the
semester, we administered a questionnaire to students on the appropriateness
of using games in the classroom. Many
of the cited benefits of games in the current literature are based on judgmental
and anecdotal evidence (Philpot & Peterson, 1998). Few studies substantiate the

findings of previous empirical research
on using games in the class environment.
In addition, previous studies on the
effectiveness of business games are
inconclusive. In their study, Whiteley
and Faria (1989) determined that games
are an effective means of improving
quantitative skills. The majority of the
articles located concerned the use of
computerized business simulations to
teach students business concepts (Coakley, Drexler, Larson, & Kircher, 1998; Li
& Baillie, 1993). Unlike these simulation games, the purpose in the present
study was not to replicate real-world
decision making, but to provide students
with an alternative means of preparing
for exams. Games are a form of motivation to increase learning and test scores.
Teachers are able to stimulate students’
interests through thought-provoking
games. For example, modified forms of
Monopoly have been used to illustrate

the principles of capitalism and socialism (Shaw, 2003).
Literature Review
Motivating Students
While many instructors believe that
grades are a motivator, some students
have indicated that they consider a number of factors (e.g., perceived value of
assignment, points in relation to total
course grade points) in determining how
much effort they will expend for a particular project or exam. Therefore, grades in
themselves are not a motivator for all students. Teachers must identify other methods that will encourage students to do
well in a class. An increase in innovation
by the teacher may increase the motivation of students (McDaniel, 1985).
If learning is to occur, students must
be motivated to learn (Calhoun, 1980).
An abundance of motivational theories
exist and are well documented in the lit10

Journal of Education for Business

erature. In his Hierarchy of Needs,

Maslow (1970) purported that humans
have low- and high-level needs that
must be satisfied. A low-level need,
such as safety, must be fulfilled before a
high-level need, such as self-actualization, can be attained. A positive and
comfortable classroom environment
may be related to student motivation.
For example, shy students are more
likely to participate in class activities
when the instructor creates a safe environment because such an environment
satisfies the students’ low-level needs,
thereby increasing their motivation.
This is especially true when the classroom is diverse, such as a class containing international and nontraditional students. Games may be a vehicle for
achieving a safe learning environment
and remove the stress of being placed
on the spot for having to arrive at the
correct answer individually.
Students may be either extrinsically or
intrinsically motivated and that factor
influences how they approach learning

(Lumsden, 1995). Intrinsically motivated
students are inspired by the sheer joy of
learning. However, extrinsically motivated students require more innovative
teaching methods that create a stimulating learning environment in order for
them to feel successful. Students develop
learning strategies to help them achieve
and one such strategy is emergence,
which is similar to synthesis; a student
arrives at a new idea using previously
learned facts and information. To develop
a repertoire of automatically reproducible
skills and behaviors requires endless drill
and practice (Sankowsky, 2001). While a
student studies for a test, repeating basic
knowledge and facts enhances the
chances for success.
Focused Interactive Learning (FIL)
has been used to teach concepts with
good results. FIL is a tool for teaching
psychological concepts through student

participation in a focused discussion
with other class members. In one study
(Harton et al., 2002), students wrote
down responses to questions and then
discussed their responses in small
groups for 2 min. The researchers found
that FIL increased student test performance. Test anxiety has long plagued
students who otherwise demonstrated
competence in a subject. Hancock

(2001) determined that classroom environment exerted a considerable influence over students. Test-anxious students in a highly evaluative classroom
performed poorly, as indicated by a selfreporting instrument. In addition, all students performed poorly under conditions
of high evaluative threat. FIL may help
alleviate such text anxiety in students.
Games and other forms of experiential
learning gained popularity in the 1970s
and 1980s, because they presented an
alternative to the traditional lecture
method. According to Ruben (1999),
games provided diverse approaches to
learning and outcomes, promoted collaboration and peer learning, and fostered
active learning. Research indicates that
cooperative learning models, such as
games, contribute to students’ success
(Harton, Richardson, Barreras, Rockloff,
& Latané, 2002).
Under Dewey’s (1994) influence,
games began to play a major role in
teaching methodology. Dewey realized
that games not only provided entertainment, but also presented opportunities
for learning. Games motivate and they
also help students develop skills, abilities, and strategies. This makes games an
important part of teaching in schools.
Most educators realize that it is possible
to learn through play. In fact, games
form a part of the educational strategies
used by teachers at all schooling levels
(Gros, 2003).
Using Games in the Classroom
Finding approaches to teaching that
motivate students to learn is very important. To engage students, one must go
beyond the traditional Socratic lecture
method. According to Philpot and Peterson (1998), “A critical issue in motivating
students seems to be to exploit the creativity and inventiveness of gaming” (p.
119). Games are a good supplement to
course lectures because they provide students with another learning modality that
goes beyond the typical classroom experience (Sugar, 1994). Games provide students with a creative environment that
encourages them to work within a team,
to communicate, and to problem solve
(Barclay & York, 1996; Warburton &
Madge, 1994; Whiteley & Faria, 1989).
Students then become actively involved

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in the learning process that may improve
purposefulness and motivation (Gray,
Topping, & Carcary, 1998).
Many popular games can be tailored
to fit specific course needs. For example, the TV game show Jeopardy, which
uses five categories, can be customized
to cover either broad management topics (e.g., organizational behavior,
human resources management, strategic
management) or specific chapters from
a textbook. Students can be broken into
two (or more) teams to compete for
points by working together to provide
the correct “question.”
Although classical teaching-and-learning models tend to emphasize the transmission of knowledge from an acknowledged expert to individuals in isolation
(i.e., a lecture format in a large classroom
where student-teacher interaction is difficult or not encouraged), teaching and
learning that take place outside the academic environment are often social, collaborative, and peer based (Ruben, 1999),
and Jeopardy meets all three of these criteria. Gray et al. (1998) found that the use
of games improved student test scores on
a driving test. Likewise, Doyle (2001)
discovered that using games as a review
activity can energize learning because
games encourage participation and active
learning. Using games to review course
materials may capture the attention of
otherwise inattentive students and motivate them to participate actively in the
learning process.
METHOD
Student Survey
We assessed students’ perception as
to the value of the use of games in the
classroom through a survey. Most students enjoy classes that go beyond the
traditional lecture format. Students find
traditional teaching-learning environments too predictable, static, unchallenging, and boring (Ruben, 1999) and
are motivated when presented with the
opportunity to actively take part in the
learning process. Gray et al. (1998) and
Philpot and Peterson (1998) found that
students highly rate the use of games as
a teaching method. We used a quasiexperimental design with intact groups,
and students in two sections of the fall

semester course Strategic Management,
taught by two of the authors of this
study, served as the population. Both
Strategic Management sections used the
same syllabus, text, lecture materials,
and midterm exam and were taught at
the same time. Students selected one of
the two sections without the knowledge
of the experiment or the name of the
instructor. Therefore, students randomly
selected one of the two sections and
were not influenced by who was teaching the course. The students in both sections matched those of other sections
that were taught at other times (i.e., they
had similar demographic characteristics
of students taking other sections of
Strategic Management).
To test whether the use of games was
superior to a traditional lecture-style
review session, we had one class play a
game based on the popular TV game
show Jeopardy to review material prior
to the midterm exam. We selected Jeopardy because its broad subject categories allowed the topics to be broken
down by chapters. Prior to the exam, we
used a coin toss to randomly select one
of the two classes to play Jeopardy as
the means of reviewing the exam material; this class formed the treatment
group. The other class served as the
control group and received a traditional
lecture review.
The treatment class played two
rounds of Jeopardy for the midterm
exam review. The instructor divided the
class into two teams, with representatives selected for each team. Jeopardy
“answers” were selected from the textbook and other readings as well as from
lecture materials. Teams took turns in
choosing categories and values until the
board was cleared. If one group failed to
provide the correct response, the other
group had the opportunity to respond
and gain points. At the end of two
rounds, the instructor asked a final
Jeopardy question, then tallied game
points and declared the winning team.
The control class received a traditional lecture review and question-andanswer session. The same terms and concepts were covered in the review as were
covered in the game. The instructor gave
students the opportunity to ask questions.
Both instructors worked on the questions
to ensure that the review sessions for

both classes covered the same materials.
Students in both sections were given the
opportunity to contact their respective
instructors outside of class if they had
any additional questions.
Both classes then took the same
exam, which had two sections. The first
section was worth 25% of the midterm
exam grade and contained multiple
choice and short answer questions. The
remaining portion of the exam (75%)
contained four essay questions. To
ensure agreement between the two
instructors, only the multiple choice and
short-answer sections of the exam were
used for this experiment. In addition,
both instructors reviewed questionable
short-answer question responses.
At the semester’s end, we asked the
84 seniors in the Strategic Management
courses, including those who did not
play Jeopardy in class, to fill out a questionnaire on game use in the classroom.
We used a 5-point (1 = strongly disagree
to 5 = strongly agree) Likert-type scale
format to assess the students’ attitudes
toward including games in the course
pedagogy. The instructor told the students that the questionnaire results
would be anonymous and their answers
or participation would in no way affect
their final grades. Instructors were not
present while the questionnaires were
completed. Eighty-two of the 84 students returned usable questionnaires.
Two questionnaires were deemed unusable because respondents circled the
same number for every answer. We
reverse scored the last question to check
for inattentive responses. The survey
included these statements: (1) games in
the course are appropriate, (2) games
facilitate learning, (3) classmates actively participated in the games, (4) games
complemented lecture material, (5)
games helped me learn, and (6) I’d
rather have a more lecture-oriented than
participatory class.
Findings and Discussion
Do Games Affect Students’ Attitudes
Toward Learning?
Table 1 reports the means and standard deviations for the survey questions.
Students reported positive attitudes
toward the use of games in the classSeptember/October 2005

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TABLE 1. Results From Student Questionnaire on Use of Games
Response
Games are appropriate in the course
Games facilitate learning
Classmates actively participated in the games
Games complemented lecture material
Games helped me learn
I'd rather have a more lecture-oriented than participatory class

M

SD

4.35
4.29
4.16
4.09
3.87
2.29

.92
.94
.84
1.03
1.15
1.36

Note. 1 = strongly disagree; 5 = strongly agree.

room. They overwhelmingly stated that
games were appropriate in class (M =
4.35, SD = .92) and that games facilitated their learning (M = 4.29, SD = .94).
Questions 5 and 6 provided some surprising results. In analyzing the responses to Question 5, we discovered that the
majority of the class stated that they
agreed or somewhat agreed with the
statement that games helped them learn
(M = 3.87, SD = 1.15). However, 10 stated that they disagreed with the statement
“games helped me learn.” One explanation for this result may be that the business school has a significant foreign student population whose first language is
not English. These students tend to be
shy and not speak in class. Because the
use of games in the class required that
students actively participate within their
groups, they may have been uncomfortable with the format of games. Although
the overall class liked the idea of a participation-oriented class, 20% (16) of the
students seemed to prefer a lecture-oriented format, whereas nearly 18% (14)
had no preference for one methodology
over the other. There are two possible
explanations for this result. First, the
question was reversed to catch students
who might rank each survey question as
a 1 or 5. As stated earlier, this disqualified two questionnaires. Second, and
more likely, several of the students commented next to question 6 that they were
shy and preferred not to participate in
class. A lecture format allows students to
sit quietly without worrying whether
their questions, answers, or comments
will be deemed unintelligent by their
classmates, or worse, the professor. As
stated before, this school has a large
number of foreign students. In many
12

Journal of Education for Business

countries, students are used to a lecture
format where classroom interaction is
sometimes frowned upon.
Do Games Affect Student Achievement?
Table 2 reports the mean scores and
standard deviations for both groups on the
midterm multiple-choice exam. Out of a
possible total of 25 points, the average test
scores for the two classes were 18.89
points for the class that played Jeopardy
and 18.33 for the class that received the
traditional lecture style review. Upon
visual examination, the mean scores were
less than 1 point apart (.56).
Are Reviews That Incorporate Games
More Effective than Traditional Lecture
Reviews When Preparing Students for
an Exam?
An independent samples t test was
performed between the two groups and
the midterm multiple-choice exam
scores. As reported in Table 3, the mean
difference between the treatment and
control groups, p < .05, t(75) = −.808,
was not statistically significant.

Educators endeavor to make the
classroom experience valuable, but
students are not the only stakeholder
group that needs to be satisfied. There
are multiple “customers,” including
parents, potential employers, and society (Bayer, 1996). Games are a vehicle
that may satisfy students’ learning
needs without loss to the other stakeholders. In fact, it may well be that
games engage the creative competitive
nature that potential employers seek
from graduates.
In the face of increasing diversity,
some types of pedagogy, including the
use of games in the classroom, cut across
racial, ethnic, cultural, gender, and age
differences. Like stories, literature, and
lectures, games are ubiquitous in our
society. Therefore, they serve as an effective and acceptable means of instruction
for a wide range of learners. In addition,
as in Philpot and Peterson’s (1998) study,
the results showed that students overwhelmingly had a positive response
toward playing games in the Strategic
Management course. Game-based learning provides for immediate feedback and
continual assessment of learning (Foreman, 2003).
Although gaming did not emerge as
the superior methodology for improving
students’ exam scores, it can be concluded that using Jeopardy was as effective
for reviewing class materials as the lecture method. Educators seem to be constantly struggling with how to stimulate
extrinsically
motivated
learners
(Shotwell, 1999). Grabowski and Price
(2003) concluded that Jeopardy challenges students to use their knowledge in
a different way from what they normally
experience. Therefore, we recommend
that professors, when possible, break
from the traditional lecture format and

Implications for the Classroom
The majority of students in this study
preferred participatory class pedagogy
and viewed peers as actively engaged in
the games. Unlike Whiteley and Faria’s
(1989) finding that business simulation
games were not as successful as other
methodologies for improving the acquisition of applied or theoretical knowledge,
this study found that Jeopardy was as
effective as lecturing in preparing students for the midterm exam.

TABLE 2. Midterm Exam
Scores for Treatment Group
(Games Review) and Control
Group (Lecture Review)

Group

Midterm exam scores
n
M
SD

Treatment
Control

37
40

18.891
18.325

3.039
3.108

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TABLE 3. Independent t Test Analysis Comparing Games versus Lecture
Reviews Based on Midterm Exam Score

Midterm exam score
Equal variances assumed
Equal variances not assumed
a

df

t

pa

Mean
difference

75.00
74.76

–.808
–.809

.422
.421

–.56689
–.56689

Two-tailed.

develop a creative pedagogy that engages
the learning styles of various students,
thus motivating them to take an active
role in their learning.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors thank the two reviewers for their
valuable insights.
REFERENCES

Future Research
This study was limited in scope as it
compared the average scores between
two classes for one exam. In addition,
only one course, Strategic Management, was used for the study. Future
studies should include introductory
courses. It is possible that by the time
students reach their senior year, they
have better mastered the “art” of test
taking. In addition, underclassmen
may be more motivated to perform
well than upperclassmen, many of
whom are in their last semester of college and already have jobs waiting for
them. Games should also be used early
on in the semester in situations other
than preparing for an exam. For example, instructors can use the game
Balderdash, or one based on it, to teach
students definitions of important business terms. Future research should
include other team games in addition
to the one that was used in this study.

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