The impact of role-playing simulation activities on higher education students' academic results

• Published in: Innovations in education and teaching international Vol. 58; no. 3; pp. 305 - 315
• Main Authors: Barrera, Franco, Venegas-Muggli, Juan I., Nuñez, Olga
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Routledge 04-05-2021; Taylor & Francis Inc
• Subjects: Academic Achievement; academic results; Active Learning; Business Administration Education; College Students; Educational Innovation; Entrepreneurship; Foreign Countries; Higher education; impact evaluation; Instructional Effectiveness; Learner Engagement; Role Playing; Role-playing simulation; Simulated Environment; Simulation; Skill Development; Students; Teaching Methods; Vignettes; Chile
• ISSN: 1470-3297; 1470-3300
• DOI: 10.1080/14703297.2020.1740101

Given the importance of developing innovative higher education teaching practices in order to engage low-performance students and improve their results, this study evaluates the impact of using role-playing simulation activities in a Chilean higher education institution. In a context where pedagogical innovations have mostly been evaluated based on student perceptions, this study applies a rigorous impact evaluation on academic results using Propensity Score Matching and Differences in Differences quasi-experimental methods. Results show that students taught using role-playing simulation activities achieve better final marks and have better pass rates than students taught using traditional methods.