Megagames as a Methodology to Foster Learning in Higher Education

Megagames are large-scale collaborative games with elements of role-playing and board games. Players need to solve wicked problems together and explore multiple solutions. When applied to higher education, megagames create opportunities for learners to work in multidisciplinary teams solving ill-structured problems, and in this way prepare learners to deal with complex social processes and different actor's interests. Despite the promising potential of megagames, there is limited research on the use of megagames in education. The project ‘Megagames as a Methodology to Enhance Global Awareness’ (MEGA) involved a multidisciplinary team of teachers, researchers and game designers and its aim was to investigate the potential of megagames as methodology for higher education to address global problems, which cannot be simply solved from a fragmented disciplinary approach. In this paper we present and discuss insights gathered during the MEGA project. The guiding research question was: How can megagames be used in higher education to create immersive learning experiences that foster learning about global issues? We addressed the research question through phenomenological research because we wanted to capture the players' experience. Phenomenological research emphasizes the importance of direct experience for understanding the essence of a phenomenon. Within this methodology we developed and piloted a megagame centered on AI and Ethics, a relevant global issue for our university’s students and faculty and investigated players' experience. The game event took about 4 hours, and it was open to students, faculty staff and other professionals. Thirty people participated in the game. We investigated participants’ learning and personal experience and how they envisioned the implementation of megagames in education through open questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. In this paper we focus on the results from the twenty-eight participants who answered the questionnaire. The data was analyzed qualitatively. Results reveal dimensions in the participants’ megagame experience that are valuable for preparing students to deal with complex situations and global problems. In particular, experiences that were connected with moral values and social skills, which are increasingly needed to prepare students for a democratic society. The megagame approach can help meet this need by offering immersive learning experiences.