External Validation of Simulation Games

For more than two decades, simulation games have been used in educational settings to provide experiential learning for participants. Substantial progress has been made in evaluating the pedagogical value of such games. The preponderance of published research has examined the internal validity of games-that is, the educational value of simulations in teaching specific material to participants (Greenlaw and Wyman, 1973). Other research has examined individual characteristics that have an impact on game performance, including group cohesiveness (Norris and Niebuhr, 1980), scholastic achievement (Vance and Gray, 1967; Wolfe, 1978a), and cognitive processing elements of players (Wolfe and Chacko, 1980). In contrast, few studies have been reported that examine the external validity of games. Perhaps a reason for limited study is a failure by researchers to agree on the meaning of external validity. Wolfe (1976) defines the concept as the transferability of academic insights into useful and effective real-world orientations, perceptions, and business career practices. Supporting this concept of external validity would be extremely complex since experimental and control groups in longitudinal study would be required. A second concept of external validity that is more amenable to study concerns the degree to which games correspond with the real-life situations they are designed to simulate. In other words, are games valid representations of reality, given the limitations of abstract simulation?