“Call of Duty” in the Classroom: Can Gamification Improve Ethical Student Learning Outcomes? A Pilot Study

Kimberly Carbo Pellegrino; Robert Pellegrino; Debra Perkins

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“Call of Duty” in the Classroom: Can Gamification Improve Ethical Student Learning Outcomes? A Pilot Study

Kimberly Carbo Pellegrino, Robert Pellegrino, and Debra Perkins

Florida Memorial University, USA

Volume 11: 2014, pp. 89-104: ABSTRACT

Increased emphasis has been placed on teaching ethics in business schools. A recent meta-analysis of business ethics instruction indicated that instructional programs have a minimal impact on improving ethical behaviors (Waples et al. 2008). One of the newest trends in MBA education is gamification which allows instructors to employ video game concepts to engage students in serious business problems. Educators are attempting to harness a similar sort of power exhibited by games like FarmVille or Call of Duty and translate this power into improved educational outcomes. This trend leads to the question; can gamification improve ethical learning outcomes? Using a single cohort of MBA students, ethics instruction in the MBA program was gamified and then operationalized in the students’ first required class and last required class. Although the sample was limited to a single cohort of students, results were promising, indicating improvement in ethical decision making and warranting further study.