Webinar: The Lobster Game: Experiential learning of system dynamics through serious gaming

The Oceania Chapter of the System Dynamics Society Webinar Series.

The Lobster Game: Experiential learning of system dynamics through serious gaming

Presenter: Dr. Russell Richards, Lecturer (System Dynamics), University of Queensland, Australia

Abstract: The Lobster Game (https://lobstermodel.web.app/) is a web-based system dynamics (SD) model that was developed to help meet the learning objectives of a System Dynamics course taught at the University of Queensland (Business School), Australia. The scope was to represent a well-managed fishery dominated by international live exports, where fishing effort was regulated but also strongly influenced by disruptions to market dynamics. The Lobster Game is a computer-based app developed in Unity3D. The motivation for using a serious game approach is its capacity to foster experiential activity-based learning, moving away from the standard didactic approach. This seminar will present the motivation for gamifying a SD model, the mechanics of the SD model itself and early insights into its utility as a teaching tool. The Lobster Game was developed as part of the ‘UQ Cases’ project using funding from the UQ Business School and was introduced to students in July 2022.