Games-Based Learning in Business Management Programmes: A Reflective Analysis of Students' Experience

This study examines how games-based learning (GBL) can support formative assessment in an undergraduate business management programme, focusing on students' own reflections on a co-created web application called Ed Owl. Conducted between September 2021 and April 2023, the research piloted the application on two final-year finance-pathway modules over eight months across two academic years. Using an exploratory qualitative design and reflexive thematic analysis, the authors drew on two focus groups with 14 students, with the aim of understanding both the overall experience of GBL and its effectiveness when students are involved in evaluating the tool.

The findings suggest that GBL can make learning more enjoyable, social, and interactive, with immediate feedback, points, time restrictions, and badges encouraging students to repeat quizzes and compete with peers. Participants reported that the games helped them recall and retain complex finance concepts such as double-entry bookkeeping, financial statement consolidation, and risk assessment, and allowed them to identify weaknesses and self-correct. However, students also expressed a strong expectation for variety in game formats, which the authors note can be resource-intensive for educators and developers to meet without compromising learning depth.

The authors position their work as a response to a limited body of literature on involving students as co-evaluators of GBL applications during design and development. Their argument is that student participation fosters ownership of learning and contributes to joint value creation in educational technology. The study also acknowledges several constraints, including the small sample, the subjective nature of student perceptions, and the risk that enjoyment may be mistaken for educational effectiveness. The authors conclude that GBL can be an effective formative assessment approach in business education when game content is tightly aligned with learning outcomes and when student perspectives are balanced against objective measures of learning.