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Business Simulations: Oakland Baseball Simworld Study Sports Business Simulations - by Dr. Joris Drayer
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Abstract
Finding
innovative methods to teach material is critical to enhancing the learning
environment. This is particularly
true in classes with a reputation for being quite complex. In a graduate level Sport
Administration Program, the Financial Management for Sport Organizations class
is one that fits this description.
Subsequently, technology has been created to apply basic concepts
related to finance to the complexity of a professional sports organization. One such program is the Oakland A's
Baseball Business Simulator. In
the fall of 2005, this program was introduced to the Financial Management
class. Through interviews and
"emotional recall" (Ellis, 2004), this evaluative case study seeks to determine
the effectiveness of this technology within this environment.
Key Words: Business simulation, sports business,
sport finance, web-based simulations, business of baseball, case study.
Introduction
Finding
innovative methods to teach material is critical to enhancing the learning
environment. This is particularly
true in classes with a reputation for being quite complex. In a graduate level Sport
Administration Program, the Financial Management for Sport Organizations class
is one that fits this description.
Subsequently, technology has been created to apply basic concepts
related to finance to the complexity of a professional sports
organization. One such program is
the Oakland A's Baseball Business Simulator.
In
the fall of 2005, I assisted one of my professors in teaching the graduate level
sport finance class here at the University. My primary responsibility in helping her was to introduce
and facilitate the Oakland A's Baseball Business Simulator. This program is a basic web-based
business simulation technology applied to a Major League Baseball
franchise. I had previous
experience with the program and, as a result, my professor and I agreed that
this would be a good opportunity for me to gain some graduate level teaching
experience while helping her through this technology that she was unfamiliar
with.
The
computer program essentially simulates 15 years of managing the finances of a
Major League Baseball franchise.
Each "year," students make roughly 100 decisions related to the finances
of the organization such as player salaries, ticket prices, television and
advertising expenses and revenues, and so on. Applying what is called "appropriate randomness," the
program will provide results after each season's decisions are submitted. Students are evaluated based on their
ability to increase revenue and overall franchise value. Additionally, a point system is
implemented in the program to reflect the success or failure of each simulation
"run".
The
simulation is used not only to provide an element of competition and engagement
to the class but to add a level of understanding to the material that is
presented in the text book or other readings. For example, to illustrate the importance of financing
methods for new facilities, we might have the students go through the
simulation several times using different methods of acquiring funds for
building a new stadium for the A's.
We would then discuss which methods were more successful and why. By relating the material in the text
and in lectures to a real-world example, the simulation aims to enhance student
comprehension of key topics related to sport finance.
The
professor had taught the class before so once the use of the simulation in the
class was finished, we talked about whether or not the simulation was an
effective teaching method. At the
end of the semester, we asked the students to provide feedback on the
program. Further, the gentleman
who created the program wanted feedback as well so that he could better utilize
the program for learning. We all
wanted to know if the program engaged the students in the material that would
otherwise be presented in the form of lectures and readings. Further, we wanted to know if the
program helps students understand the material in the class by presenting a
real-world example and allowing them to apply the concepts. It is based on these criteria that I
will evaluate the effectiveness of this program. This evaluative case study uses my own recollections of the
class ("emotional recall") and several interviews to evaluate whether or not
the simulation was indeed an effective teaching tool in this environment.
This
study asks: Is the Oakland A's Baseball Business Simulator an effective tool
for increasing engagement with and understanding of key concepts related to
sport finance at the graduate level?
Literature Review
Purpose of Simulation Technology in an
Academic Setting
Business
simulations have become very popular teaching tools in universities and
business schools across the country.
In fact, most top business schools now incorporate some sort of
simulation in the curriculum (Young, 2005). Simulations are "designed to give students opportunities to begin practicing the
higher-level thinking the profession demands, where the learner identifies
problems, finds relevant information, acknowledges the influence of
uncertainties on potential solutions, and then communicates findings to target
audiences" (Springer & Borthick, 2004). Simulations are indeed a useful tool in business classes
which is why the Oakland A's Baseball Business Simulator was developed
specifically for this context within sport finance.
This
program, like other web-based simulations, provides online support in the form
of links to references, a message board, and other useful information (Lucas,
2001). While the primary goal of
simulations is to give students an opportunity to understand key concepts by
giving them hands-on, real-world experience, other benefits include an enhanced
ability to work through the decision-making process (Lucas, 2001). The Oakland A's Simulator has over 100
decisions to be made each year.
Like other business simulations, balancing a budget and maximizing
revenue require careful and strategic decision-making and attention to detail. This is particularly relevant as most
simulations will have profits and overall franchise value as its primary
criteria for success (Hoaas, 2002).
The Oakland A's Simulation is no different although it does consider
other factors such as winning percentage and championships won.
Though
most commonly used in business or finance related classes, simulations are also
used in law classes. Though
similar to the practice of mock trials, these simulations have value because of
the ability to manipulate facts that require critical thinking and illustrate
different concepts. For example,
one law-based program simulates the Bosnian War Crimes Trial and is intended to
illustrate the fact that international law is about law and politics
simultaneously (Jefferson, 1999).
Business simulations are essentially no different as they may alter the
state of the economy or demand for a product in order to change the appropriate
business strategy.
Simulation Technology in an Industry Setting
Previously
considered only for academic uses, simulation technology is now being used in
professional capacities as well.
Over 60% of US corporations have utilized some sort of simulation
technology (Pile, 2004).
Executives consider simulations valuable by having employees "gain a
better understanding of corporate goals and challenges and see where they fit
into the big picture" (Solomon, 2002).
Further, "they can be especially helpful in getting employees to better
align their work with business strategies, particularly if they're new
strategies" (Solomon, 2002). In
the high-stakes world of business, trial and error is not an accepted
practice. Simulations allow people
to learn from experience which is how most adults learn most effectively (Pile,
2004). It is for this reason that
simulations are now popular practice in the business world.
Comparison between Simulations for Industry
and for Academia
Although
the programs are the same, there are obviously many differences between running
a simulation for an academic audience and a professional audience. First of all, the use of a simulator is
referred to as "simulation training" in an industry setting and as "simulation
education" in academia (Banks, 2000).
While this is a small difference, it does speak to the intent of the
program. Banks (2000) outlines
several other categories in which simulations differ between industry and
academia such as objective, diversity of audience, nature of the students,
teaching method, pace, class size, evaluation, intensity, assignments, quality,
and use of training.
Of
the aforementioned criteria, several are noteworthy. First of all, the diversity of an academic classroom is
likely to be more homogeneous due to the similarity of goals and interests
(Banks, 2000). This is
particularly true at the graduate level where the goals and interests of the
students tend to be more narrow and specific. Similarly, the coursework also tends to get more narrow and
specific.
Secondly,
the size of the class is also critically important. Though not an issue in the classroom in this study,
undergraduate class sizes can be rather large. Teaching the simulation to large classes can be difficult
(Banks, 2000) because teachers must teach both the critical concepts as well as
the use of the technology itself which may be difficult.
Of
the criteria set forth by Banks (2000), the last noteworthy idea is that of
evaluation. In other words, how
will the participants be evaluated upon completion of the simulation? While professional participants are
generally not graded for their performance, academic students will almost
always be evaluated with a grade.
Banks (2000) points out that "grades are the carrot and can conflict
with learning." Indeed, if the
focus is on getting a good grade rather than comprehending to concepts, the
primary objective of the simulation is lost. One of the benefits of this type of teaching tool is that it
does allow for mistakes without consequences (besides negatively affecting a
grade). Solomon (2002), quoting
the manager of application development in Ameren's IT department, states that
"learning is made up of mistakes, and the simulation exercise allows you to
make those mistakes in a controlled environment."
How to Best Utilize Simulation Technology
It
is ultimately the responsibility of the teacher/instructor/facilitator of a
simulation to maximize the teaching benefit of that particular program. "In the constructivist approach, the
teacher's role is to pose problems in realistic, meaningful contexts, model
behaviors that facilitate learning such as collaboration and reflection, and
ensure that learners attend to inconsistencies and errors arising in their
mental representations. In
essence, the teacher becomes a coach rather than a presenter of knowledge"
(Springer & Borthick, 2004).
Making
sure that the students master the material is obviously critical in making a
simulator worthwhile. Helping
students realize that it is not a game that requires simple manipulation but
rather a teaching tool with valuable lessons within it is an essential message
to convey (Chiodo & Flaim, 1993).
Most classroom simulation runs will lead to a concluding discussion
regarding the concepts, observations, challenges, and lessons. Chiodo and Flaim (1993) suggest that
until students have the opportunity to reflect upon the experience of running
through the simulation, no real comprehension of the material will take place.
To
ensure that students and teachers take the time to truly understand the
material, Chiodo and Flaim (1993) suggest a six-step debriefing model. The first step, called "decompression,"
involves simply taking time to relax after running the simulation. This is a key step as many simulations
take hours to complete. The second
step, called "facts," is simply a review of the factual information. That step is followed by "inferences,"
which includes focus questions and a look at causal relationships within the
simulation. In the next step,
called "transfer," students are to take time to apply the lessons in the
simulation to the real world so they have to apply the concepts learned in the
simulation to a real world example.
Then, students are to try to make generalizations and rules from the
simulations in a step called "generalizations." Finally, students should apply these rules and
generalizations to the real world in the step called "applications." Chiodo and Flaim feel that applying
these steps to a simulation debriefing will ensure that the program is
effectively communicating key concepts.
Does Simulation Technology Work?
Perceptions
of the effectiveness of simulations vary.
A study completed of Wharton (one the nation's top business schools at
the University of Pennsylvania) indicated that 87% of students found the
simulation "enhanced" or "significantly enhanced" their level of engagement in
the class (Young, 2005). Clearly,
if used in the proper setting and administered effectively by the instructor,
simulation technology can be useful in terms of engaging students and
subsequently increasing comprehension.
Student
interest will also have a major impact on the effectiveness of a simulation. Springer and Borthick (2004) placed
students in two categories. The
first category was highly excited and highly engaged in the simulation and the
concepts. They were also excited
about having gained real world knowledge.
The second category of student did not want to engage themselves in a
new type of assignment. Springer
and Borthick (2004) stated that these students "would rather avoid the
ambiguity inherent in solving real business problems. They would rather continue in the familiar mode – a
good grade with minimal thought."
As with any classroom, there will always be a disparity in the overall
interest level among the students.
From the
industry perspective, not every evaluation of this technology is as positive as
it was from Wharton. Pile (2004)
states that "many simulation efforts have failed to deliver genuine and lasting
change for companies. As a result,
simulations are often dismissed as having more entertainment than educational
value." Companies obviously
want to see a return on their investment in terms of increased productivity,
efficiency, and/or revenue.
Methodology
Personal Statement
As
a doctoral student in Sport Administration, my focus is separated into two very
distinct parts: research and teaching.
With the hope of one day becoming a professor at a university, it is
important that I maintain a level of excellence in both. Currently, I am attempting to gain as
much experience in both as I possibly can. The experience of assisting in the teaching of a graduate level
sport finance class provided me with a tremendous opportunity to gain valuable
teaching experience.
After being
a student for twenty-one years, I have learned to appreciate the value of
quality instruction. Subsequently,
I am passionate about becoming an influential teacher and I take advantage of
every opportunity I get to teach anything that anyone will let me teach. The Sport Finance class became a
perfect situation for me as I had gained some prior experience with the
simulation technology that was used in the class. My professor thought it would be a great opportunity for me
to (A.) help her to teach the class using the simulator and (B.) gain graduate
level teaching experience.
At the same
time, we were both wary of the use of expensive, new technology. We wanted to make sure that this
product was indeed doing what we wanted it to do, specifically enhancing
student interest in sport finance and providing another avenue by which
students can grasp some of the difficult concepts related to this topic
area. We agreed that once the
semester was over, I would do a case study that examined whether or not the
simulator achieved our goals. The
opportunity to teach had now expanded to an opportunity to do meaningful
research.
My stance
as a constructivist will weigh heavily in this research. I feel that students learn best when
they are interacting with the material and interpreting what they see, feel,
and hear. Springer and Borthick
(2004) state that "learners construct their knowledge rather than just receive
it, an approach to learning known as constructivism." Further, I also feel that everyone has a story that
contributes to their perspectives, attitudes, abilities, and perceptions. As I go along in this study, I would
like to make sure that I consider these individual differences.
Participants
The
class was called Financial Management of Sport Organizations. It is a graduate level class designed
for students with a focus in Sport Administration/Sport Management. The class was made up of 12 students. Eight of these students were doctoral
students and the remaining four were master's students. My role in the class was as a teaching
assistant. I was responsible for
administering this technology in the class as the professor was previously unfamiliar
with how it worked. Finally, the
professor was also present in the classroom. She gave the majority of the lectures that were unrelated to
the simulation and its related concepts and gave and graded all of the
assignments. The professor was
also evaluating my effectiveness in administering this program as it was my
first experience in front of a graduate level class.
I
conducted "emotional recall" (Ellis, 2004) in order to express my opinions and
feelings about how well the simulation worked in this class. This process involves carefully
reflecting on a previous experience.
This method of data collection was ideal for this study as it allowed
me, the primary researcher and primary administrator of the simulation, an
opportunity to input my experiences and observations into the data. This process was performed prior to
other methods of data collection in order to eliminate potential biases.
Semi-structured
interviews were also included in this research. Not every person in the class was interviewed. An email was sent out to solicit
interview participants and the first two doctoral students and one master's
student were chosen to be interviewed in an effort to be consistent with the
ratio of the class. The student
interviews were fairly short and straightforward and all lasted under an hour.
Critical to
this research was the interview with the professor. She had taught the class previously and could reflect on the
differences in class performance and class engagement. The interview with the professor was
also highly successful. That
interview was much more detailed and lasted the entire ninety minutes. All of the interviews were
semi-structured based on the interview questions listed in the appendix.
The
"emotional recall" ended up being the most difficult part of the study. Recalling specific details of the class
to support global ideas about the effectiveness of the simulation was
challenging. I referred back to
the syllabus and other course materials to refresh my memory about particular experiences
within the sport finance class.
Setting
While
the term of the class in the fall of 2005 took place in the classroom, the
interviews all took place in a quiet, office-like setting. Additionally, when I conducted my
"emotional recall," I was sequestered in my quiet office with ample opportunity
to reflect upon the entirety of the experience so that I could reconstruct the
classroom context.
Method
For
this study, I will be conducting an evaluative case study. This is appropriate for this kind of
evaluative research because although you could quantify student performance in
a quantitative study with grades and other methods of evaluation, it is
difficult to quantify students' level of engagement. Further, quantitative research is also not appropriate for
this study because there is no need to generalize the data. The experience of this particular class
is important; however, each classroom has its own unique setting with its own
unique combination of personalities.
The purpose of this study is not to generalize. Instead, the purpose is to shed a
little light on the impact and effectiveness of simulation technology. You, as the reader, can make your own
evaluation as to whether or not you think the results are generalizable. The purpose of this study is to use
thick description and open-ended interview questions to make an evaluation as
to whether or not this technology was effective in this particular setting.
Besides
describing and interpreting, this study also intends to be evaluative. In other words, not only do I want to
describe the nature of the class and interpret the actions of the people
involved, I also want to make a final judgment as to the effectiveness of the
simulation based on the criteria set forth in the research question,
specifically, level of engagement and comprehension. Guba and Lincoln (1981) wrote that case study was the best
form of research when doing an evaluative study (Merriam, 1998). They state that "evaluations of worth
must be grounded in field studies of local contexts" (Guba and Lincoln, 1981,
p. 44). Further, citing Kenny and
Grotelueschen, Merriam states that "case study is appropriate when the
objective of an evaluation is 'to develop a better understanding of the
dynamics of a program'" (Merriam, 1998, p. 39). The primary objective of this research is to evaluate the
effectiveness of this web-based program so case study appears to be the best
form of research available.
Internal Validity
There
are several attempts to address the issue of validity in my study. First of all, using "emotional recall"
as the primary mode of data collection does threaten the validity of the
study. Although I feel as though I
have no biases or preconceived notions regarding this study, there is always
the threat of a bias. Further, I
have no motivations to report a positive evaluation of the simulation.
However, to
make sure that a possible bias does not threaten my study, I added the
interview element of data collection.
Interviewing the professor, an interested observer, will certainly
provide a strong and qualified opinion in this study. The student interviews, while possibly not as valuable, will
also add validity to my observations as well as the observations of the
professor. Further, we were all in
the class for the entire semester (three hours per week for sixteen weeks) so
we all have a wealth of experiences to draw from. This adds value to the study as the aspects of the class
that were noteworthy for the professor may be completely different than what I considered
noteworthy which may also be different from what the students took from the
experience.
External Validity
External validity is a key issue for this study. The setting in which the class took
place is so unique that generalizing to any other type of environment is not
reasonable. I do think that this
research has some value when applied specifically to graduate level sport
finance classes considering the use of the Oakland A's Baseball Business Simulator. However, that is not the ultimate goal
of this particular study.
As a
constructivist, the goal of my research is not necessarily to create
generalizations. Instead, through
thick description, I would like people to create their own theories for
generalization about the effectiveness of this technology. The depth of my "emotional recall" will
do the most to address the external validity. Further, I do believe that each classroom develops its own
personality. This makes creating
generalizations about any classroom extremely difficult when doing a case
study.
Reliability
The
issue of reliability will be addressed through multiple sources of data
collection methods as well as a detailed audit trail. The references to the "emotional recall" along with the
transcripts from the open-ended interview questions should address any concerns
about the reliability of this study.
Of course, using "emotional recall" will call into question my level of
reliability. However, I do feel
that by using other methods of data collection, the data should be dependable
and consistent.
Analysis
A
content analysis was performed.
This analysis was used to examine the stories and opinions expressed in
the interviews and the "emotional recall". The purpose of this analysis was to evaluate the
effectiveness of the simulation based on two criteria: engagement and
comprehension.
Assuring Quality Research
Lincoln
and Guba (1990) listed four criteria by which qualitative research should be
evaluated: resonance, rhetoric, empowerment, and applicability. In an effort to enhance the quality of
this research, I have applied these criteria to this study. First, in discussing resonance
criteria, Lincoln and Guba claim that the researcher "has an obligation to be
self-examining, self-questioning, self-challenging, self-critical, and
self-correcting" (1990, p. 207).
Using the "emotional recall" method allowed me to be very critical of my
data. Reading and re-reading the
transcripts for this as well as the interviews ensures that I am self-critical
of the data.
By
rhetorical criteria, the authors are referring to the overall organization and
style of the writing. This paper
uses simplistic writing along with the logical organization that is associated
with most research papers to ensure the readability of the paper.
Although
this paper applies to a very select audience (likely only professors of sport
finance), it is effective in raising the consciousness of these readers. Lincoln & Guba state that
"empowerment implies consciousness-raising" (1990, p. 211). This study should enable professors to
effectively implement a simulation program in a similar context.
The
final criteria, applicability, is described as "the extent to which the case
study facilitates the drawing of inferences by the reader that may have
applicability in his or her own context or situation" (Lincoln & Guba,
1990, p. 211). Again,
although the audience for this study is likely quite
small, the applicability aspect of this study is quite apparent. Giving instructors both an evaluation
of the effectiveness of the simulation along with recommendations for how best
to implement the simulation into a sport finance class is where the value of
this study lies.
Findings
For
the purpose of this section, I will break the research question into two
parts. First, I will discuss my
findings about how the simulation affected student engagement in the class and
second, I will address how the simulation affected student understanding of the
material in the class.
Student Engagement
As
this generation of MTV watchers and Nintendo game players enters into academe,
the need for new forms of interactive pedagogy is increased. The professor of the sport finance
class noted that although professors do not have an obligation to "entertain," they
do need to provide some sort of interaction and help to apply concepts and theory
to the real world. This simulation
is designed with this in mind.
Students initially became very interested in the class and the prospect
of using a simulation to apply key concepts in the class. One doctoral student, Jerry, even
referred to the simulation as "a game."
Indeed, it was the competitive aspect of the simulation that worked to
engage the class the most. Tim, a
first semester master's student, said that he "paid more attention during class
because he wanted to do well in the simulation." In addition to providing such outputs as revenue,
attendance, winning percentage, and overall franchise value, the simulation
also incorporates a point system based on these outputs. Each "season" that the students run
through, they are given a certain number of points and the simulation program
provides a "high score list" for the class. Tim became obsessed with having the high score for the
class. He ran through the
simulation several times in an effort to have his name and score at the top of
the list. The desire for "bragging
rights" quickly became the focus of this fairly cohesive and tightly knit
class. According to Jerry, this
"interaction made it feel more engaging."
However,
as the course of the semester continued, the initial excitement of this new
technology waned and students began to lose interest. There began to be some separation between the material that
was covered in the class and the concepts that were utilized in the
simulation. Further, eight of the
twelve students were very excited in the first few weeks and ran through the
entire course of the simulation several times (it takes one to two hours to run
through all fifteen seasons in each simulation run). These students seemed to feel as though they had done all
they could do with the program.
Jerry was one of the students who initially ran through the simulation
at least five times. In his
interview, he stated that he learned how to "manipulate" the program to give
him the outputs and score that he wanted.
As a result, the data indicate that this program is best used for a
shorter period of the class, probably about six weeks. Further, particular attention must be
paid to how the instructors tie material in the class to the simulation. Students became disinterested when they
did not see a purpose or application of the simulation to the material in the
class.
Student Comprehension
Just
like the data for the "student engagement" section, the data for this section
was quite consistent across all the interviews as well as the "emotional
recall". The overall feedback on
the simulation was quite positive.
Adjectives like "fun," "interesting," and "interactive" were used
repeatedly. However, as it relates
to student comprehension, there was some room for improvement. The primary observation was the
apparent disconnect between the material that was covered in the class lecture
and reading assignments and the concepts that were presented in the
simulation. This responsibility
lies squarely on the shoulders of the instructors who were responsible for
creating the class outline for the semester. Both instructors agreed that more careful planning was
needed to make sure that the concepts presented in class were then immediately
applied in the simulation. For
example, one of the major strengths of the simulation is showing how
professional sports stadiums are funded.
The various sources of public funding were outlined in the text book and
the lecture. Additionally, the
links on the simulation page contained additional information about the
topic. With all of this
information, students can easily apply what they have learned on the topic in a
subsequent simulation run. This is
the best was to administer the program for each individual topic, such as
public funding for a new stadium, marketing expenses, payroll, ticket pricing,
and various sources of internal and external revenue.
The
competitive aspect of the program was tremendous for student engagement;
however, sometimes it conflicted with the second objective of increasing
student comprehension. As
mentioned earlier, some of the students became so familiar with the program
that they were able to manipulate the program in order to yield the best
results. Tim indicated that his process
does not always involve doing what is "ethical, practical, or realistic." The professor of the class supported
that opinion by saying that students "didn't do what was rational" and "focused
on what would get them the highest score." One of the purposes of the simulation is to apply the
knowledge gathered from the literature on sport finance to a real world
situation. However, the one major
flaw of the program is that it implies a virtually unlimited amount of money to
gain access to. Students are able
to spend freely on players, marketing, scouting and player development, and
front-office staff to see an immediate spike in revenue. However, this scenario does not reflect
the current financial situation of the Oakland A's. Jerry suggested that this would be a great simulation if it
were "the New York Yankees Baseball Business Simulator" as a result of the
positive outcomes from these extravagant spending decisions. This is the primary way that students
felt they were "manipulating" the program and why they felt as though it was
not always truly reflective of the Oakland A's franchise. The actual Oakland A's employ a
different model of success which involves more frugal spending habits and a
very limited budget. The professor
effectively summarized this point by stating that "the sim held the students
accountable for the concepts because they had to base decisions on existing
data. However, what the literature
says is most appropriate/effective didn't always result in the highest score."
There
were several key positive aspects of the simulation related to student
comprehension. Some of these were
planned and some were merely a byproduct of the program. First and foremost, students really
enjoyed learning about how teams finance new stadiums. Even Jerry, a doctoral student with
significant experience with sport finance and the business of baseball,
admitted that he knew little about how a stadium gets funded and that the
simulation was able to teach him many of those concepts.
Second,
students were able to grasp the vast array of decisions that are required to
successfully run a professional baseball franchise. With over one hundred decisions to make each simulated year,
students were "forced to look at more financial indicators with the simulation"
according to the professor. The
simulation also employs a concept called "appropriate randomness" whereby an
element of uncertainty is factored into the outputs. In other words, the same decisions may produce entirely
different results in different simulation runs. The professor considered this uncertainty to be a major
benefit of the simulation citing that students need to understand that there
are certain things that are beyond their control such as a rise in oil prices,
a terrorist attack, or a natural disaster. Although these phenomena are not incorporated into the
simulation, the program is effective in showing students that they cannot
control everything. As was expected, students strongly
disliked this concept of uncertainty or randomness. Greg, another first semester doctoral student, expressed his
frustration with these "behind the scenes factors," saying that "students want
to feel as though they have more control over the final result instead of other
issues that don't appear to be present."
The
simulation is essentially a database filled with cause and effect
relationships. For example, lower
ticket prices and increased marketing expenditures will generally lead to
higher attendance. One of the
great aspects of this program is that it is outcome-based. In other words, students get to see
what the effects of their decisions are.
The professor stated that "it makes them think" and "make decisions
based on data." Further, she
indicated that there are certain concepts, such as the various methods for
financing a stadium, which are best taught using outcome-based learning. Another benefit was that in order to
get the data to make better decisions, students were forced to do extra
reading. In the rapidly changing
field of sport finance, reading the current literature on the subject is
essential to understanding it.
Implications
Implications for Sport Management
The
evaluation in this study indicates that, if applied correctly, the Oakland A's
Baseball Business Simulator can be a very effective tool for increasing student
engagement and understanding. With
an increase of sport administration/sport management programs throughout the
United States, new pedagogy is always critical for capturing the interests of
students who are becoming more technologically savvy and desire more
interactive teaching methods. This
is particularly true for the area of sport finance. There is a dearth of text books available on the subject and
also a shortage of experts. This
tool will help professors who are not savvy in every area of sport finance to
convey certain concepts more effectively.
This research indicates that professors can confidently apply the
simulation to a sport finance class and much of the learning will occur just by
the students running through the simulation and reading the information that
accompanies it.
Future
research should continue to monitor the effectiveness of the simulation. The technology within the program will
continue to improve as the creator continues to enhance it. Also, the familiarity of the
instructors with the program and how to incorporate it into the course
materials will also become enhanced over time. I would have liked to conduct this study over time. I would have been able to answer many
questions that are currently left unanswered such as:
1)
Does more effective incorporation of the simulation into the
course material will result in increased student comprehension?
2)
Does increased instructor familiarity with the simulation lead
to higher student comprehension?
3)
To what extent
does this technology enhance student engagement and learning?
4)
How can instructors maximize the positive effects of this
program?
5)
What is the optimal period of time to administer the
simulation?
All of these questions could have been addressed
if this study had occurred over a period of several classes. Perhaps conducting a comparison of
classes that used the program and did not use the program would have been a
more effective way to assess the simulation's effectiveness. Although I did ask the professor how
this class appeared to be different from previous classes, the quality of her
response is not comparable to the richness of the data that comes from
conducting a case study and observing over the course of an entire semester.
Implications for Qualitative Research
There
has been qualitative research that has been conducted on classrooms and the
effectiveness of certain types of pedagogy. The biggest contribution of this study is the utility of the
"emotional recall". Having
instructors critically evaluate how they taught the class and the effectiveness
of their methods is a powerful tool.
Based on my "emotional recall", I learned a tremendous amount about how
to effectively teach and engage a class.
Further, the instructor is in the unique position of observing a class
during the entire semester.
Experienced instructors will be able to assess each class based on their
previous experiences. Inevitably,
some classes become more engaged or comprehend the material better than
others. "emotional recall" allows
instructors to reflect and determine what the cause of those differences is.
Implications for Myself
As
mentioned earlier, this research taught me a lot about how I want to teach as a
future professor. Implementing
interactive teaching methods such as this simulation can be quite useful in
enhancing student interest in a topic area. Hearing students talk about how much fun they are having in
a class is certainly rewarding and will likely enhance student learning
(although examining the relationship between fun and learning is another study
altogether). Hearing about
students doing extra reading because they want to do well in a "game" and
without asking them is certainly unusual.
However, this can all be done by implementing something like this
program.
The
second major lesson that this research has taught me is the level of detail
necessary to teach effectively.
Preparing an effective lecture is only half the battle. Creating a logical lesson plan that
transitions effectively over the course of a semester is also critical. The gap that existed between the
materials covered in the class and the application to the simulation is the
fault of the instructors alone.
More careful planning and implementation was required to make this experience
more useful.
However,
the experience only enhanced my desire to teach and impact the lives' of young
people. It is so rewarding to see
students so excited about a subject area that they never thought they would be. Genuine excitement and interest is easy
to see and I saw it throughout the course of the semester.
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Appendix A
Interview Questions
Interview for the professor of the class:
- How
long have you been teaching at the graduate level?
- What
are the greatest benefits of teaching?
- What
are the greatest challenges of teaching?
- How
long have you been teaching sport finance?
- What
has been your experience teaching the class before the fall of 2005?
- What
have been the positive aspects of the class?
- What
have been the greatest challenges in teaching the class?
- How
did you become aware of the Oakland A's Baseball Business Simulator?
- Why
did you want to introduce it to the graduate level sport finance class?
- What
do you think the simulator is designed to accomplish?
- Did
you feel like it achieved those goals?
- How do
you feel like the simulator affected student engagement in the class?
- How
was the level of student engagement different from previous sport finance
classes?
- How do
you feel that the simulator affected student understanding of the
material?
- How
did this classes understanding of key concepts compare to previous
classes?
- What
was the student feedback on the simulation like?
- What
is your overall evaluation of the effectiveness of simulator?
- Will
you use this program again?
Why or why not?
- What
are some things that you might do differently in an attempt to make the
simulation more effective in increasing student engagement and
comprehension of the material?
- Any
final comments?
Interview for students:
- What
was your academic level during the fall of 2005 when you were enrolled in
the sport finance class?
- What
other coursework had you taken any coursework related to sport finance
prior to the fall of 2005?
- Please
describe your overall experience in the sport finance class?
- Had
you ever used the Oakland A's Baseball Business Simulator before this
class?
- Please
describe the positive aspects of the program?
- Please
describe the negative aspects of the program?
- How do
you feel the program affected your engagement in the class and the
material?
- How do
you feel the program affected the class's overall engagement in the class
and the material?
- How do
you feel that the program affected your level of understanding of the
material?
- How do
you feel that the program affected the class's overall understanding of
the material?
- How
could the use of the program in the class been altered so that it was more
effective?
- If you
were teaching a sport finance class, would you use this program? Why or why not?
- Any
final comments?
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