Keywords

design thinking, experiential learning, video game design, teaching methods

Abstract

In the spirit of design thinking, we have developed a ―hands-on‖ video game design workshop intended to be used for an MBA course on design thinking. This novel approach to teaching complex concepts and skills to business students has been received with enthusiasm, and it provides a unique and memorable experience for students to draw on as they encounter situations in which they will apply design thinking in the future. Additionally, student-produced games and student reflections on the workshops provide initial evidence of the value of teaching design thinking through this type of experiential method. In this article we review key design thinking concepts, report on our continuing efforts to incorporate these principles into video game design workshops in the MBA curriculum, and conclude with reflections on improvements for future iterations in hopes that these lesson plans will be shared and will add value to other institutions teaching design thinking. Workshop lesson plans and student projects can be found online at http://www.kolobkreations.com/GDWweb/GDWHome.html.

Original Publication Citation

Gaskin, James and Berente, Nicholas (2011) “Video Game Design in the MBA Curriculum: An Experiential Learning Approach for Teaching Design Thinking,” Communications of the Association for Information Systems: Vol. 29, Article 6.

Document Type

Peer-Reviewed Article

Publication Date

2011

Publisher

Communications of the Association for Information Systems

Language

English

College

Marriott School of Business

Department

Information Systems Management

University Standing at Time of Publication

Full Professor

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