Determinants of the Effectiveness of Using Renewable Resource Management-Based Simulations in the Development of Critical Thinking: An Application of the Experiential Learning Theory

Abstract

The twenty-first century’s society experiences new challenges in being immersed in a new paradigm of the educational system. Higher education institutions should train professionals so that they are able to experience real situations in order to encourage reflection on affective, aesthetic, and ethical dimensions of these people in their relations with the natural and sociocultural environment. Learning strategies must allow the acquisition of creative, active, and applied knowledge as well as the development of critical thinking. According to the experiential learning theory, to achieve this, higher education should use student-centered interactive and collaborative teaching methodologies and focus studies on the skills that graduates must have, promoting student know-how, initiative, and autonomous learning. Business simulations are instruments that fulfil the above characteristics, facilitating learning. The objective of this research was to provide a model that identifies the determining factors (simulation’s realism and structure, perceived usefulness, and students’ learning motivation) in the effectiveness of using these tools to develop critical thinking focused on sustainability. Three hundred and twenty-six surveys completed by undergraduate students were obtained, which used a structural equation model (SEM) to analyze the influence of realism, simulation structure, perceived usefulness, and students’ motivations to develop critical thinking. The outcomes according to the experiential learning theory showed that the game’s realism lets students perceive its usefulness and, together with an adequate simulation structure, determines the students’ learning motivations by developing critical thinking.

Critical Thinking Using Project-Based Learning: The Case of The Agroecological Market at the “Universitat Politècnica de València”

“…This approach emphasizes the role that critical thinking plays as a fundamental skill, competence, and attitude for the development of sustainable awareness [24], to analyze reality more effectively [25] or as an element that allows people to reflect on their own actions [26]. The second line of critical thinking emphasizes the strategies and methodologies used in higher education to incorporate, strengthen, evaluate, and transfer knowledge of sustainability towards the personal and professional development of students, using case studies [27] or experiential learning [28,29] to represent alternatives for which there is growing interest in the academic field.…”

The Relationship between the Use of Building Performance Simulation Tools by Recent Graduate Architects and the Deficiencies in Architectural Education

“…Currently, architects are beginning to use the new energy modeling tools, but their participation is still poor [40,41]. On the other hand, there must also be a change in architectural education [42,43], since professionals find difficulties both in the interfaces and in the analysis parameters. The inclusion Energies 2020, 13, 1134 3 of 20 of energy simulation tools in university syllabi will result in better communication between architecture and other disciplines [44,45].…”

The Effect of Structured Feedback on Performance: the Role of Attitude and Perceived Usefulness

“…This is achieved by critically reflecting on one's knowledge and experiences [5]. The key focus is on what students have learnt instead of what teachers or supervisors have taught [6]. In this new method, it encourages students' self-learning under teachers' supervision as it enables students to develop abilities to manage and apply the knowledge [6].…”

“…The key focus is on what students have learnt instead of what teachers or supervisors have taught [6]. In this new method, it encourages students' self-learning under teachers' supervision as it enables students to develop abilities to manage and apply the knowledge [6]. According to the experiential learning theory, learning is defined as "the process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience.…”