Teaching Strategic Intelligence Through Games (Original Research)

(Note:  This is another in a series of posts that I refer to as “experimental scholarship” -- or using the medium of the internet and the vehicle of this blog as a way to put my research online for more or less real-time peer review. Earlier examples of this genre include: A Wiki Is Like A Room..., The Revolution Begins On Page 5, What Is Intelligence? and What Do Words Of Estimative Probability Mean?.  

This series of posts is based off a paper I gave at the Game Education Summit last week.)

Strategic intelligence is considered by intelligence professionals to be the highest form of the analytic art.   There is a tremendous need for this type of intelligence product and a lack of trained professionals capable of producing it.  Developing effective teaching methods for this challenging subject, therefore, is an area of ongoing concern for the business, law enforcement and national security intelligence communities.

Previous research (cited in detail in later posts) suggests that a game-based approach to teaching can be successful but no report so far has examined game-based learning in teaching intelligence analysis.  I hypothesized that a game-based approach to teaching strategic intelligence analysis would increase learning and improve performance while also increasing student satisfaction with the course.

This series of posts reports the initial results and lessons learned from teaching three full courses (2 undergraduate and one graduate) in strategic intelligence using games as a teaching tool.  This series of posts will begin by examining the unique challenges in teaching strategy, strategic decisionmaking and the types of intelligence that supports those efforts.  This will be followed by a short discussion concerning games-based learning generally before examining in detail the specific approaches used in these three courses. 

 

This series of posts will also examine both the learning outcomes and student satisfaction with the courses.  Finally, this series of posts will discuss appropriate course modifications for undergraduate and graduate students when teaching advanced subjects with games based on the evidence from this study.

Next:
What is strategy and what are strategic decisions?