Experiential learning: Designing differentiation strategies via gamification
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35564/jmbe.2025.0027Keywords:
kinesthetic learning style, gamification, differentiation strategies, self-regulated learning (SRL) model, experiential learningAbstract
This paper addresses the limitations of deterministic teaching-learning models in higher education by proposing a learning game, adaptable approach to strategic management courses that foster active student engagement and comprehensive development. This new methodology might be beneficial to include the applicability of this in both undergraduate and master's courses. Grounded in the kinesthetic learning style and utilizing gamification, learning game encourages learning through action and direct experience. It is specifically designed based on Zimmerman's (2000) cyclical model of self-regulated learning (SRL), which encompasses the forethought, performance, and self-reflection phases. The pedagogical aim is to reinforce students' understanding of formulating differentiation leadership competitive strategies. Key objectives include enabling students to apply sources of competitive advantage for differentiation, discern the advantages and risks of this strategy, and elucidate its successful implementation prerequisites. Furthermore, the learning game aims to cultivate transversal competencies such as creativity, communication, negotiation, teamwork, and leadership skills within the university setting, shifting away from passive learning towards active participation and potential agency for social change.
Downloads
References
Al-Bayati, A. H., & Mizban, A. J. (2022). The effectiveness of brainstorming in the achievement of fourth-grade students in science. Journal of Positive School Psychology, 6(5), 1506–1520. http://journalppw.com
Ansoff, I. (1965). Corporate strategy: An analytic approach to business policy for growth and expansion. McGraw-Hill.
Bain, J. S. (1956). Barriers to new competition. Harvard University Press. https://doi.org/10.4159/harvard.9780674188037
Bain, J. S. (1968). Industrial organization. Wiley.
Bonwell, C. C., & Eison, J. A. (1991). Active Learning: Creating Excitement in the Classroom. School of Education and Human Development, George Washington University
Boyle, E. A., Hainey, T., Connolly, T. M., Gray, G., Earp, J., Ott, M., Lim, T. N., Ninaus, M., Ribeiro, C., & Pereira, J. (2016). An update to the systematic literature review of empirical evidence of the impacts and outcomes of computer games and serious games. Computers & Education, 94, 178-192. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2015.11.003
Chandler, A. D. (1962). Strategy and structure: Chapters in the history of American industrial enterprise. MIT Press.
Chen, S.-Y., Tsai, J.-C., Liu, S.-Y., & Chang, C.-Y. (2021). The effect of a scientific board game on improving creative problem solving skills. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 41, 100921. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2021.100921
Dahalan, F., Alias, N., & Shaharom, M. S. N. (2024). Gamification and game based learning for vocational education and training: A systematic literature review. Education and Information Technologies, 29, 1279–1317. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-022-11548-w
Daniel, K; Msambwa, M.M.; Antony, F. & Wan, X. (2024). Motivate students for better academic achievement: A systematic review of blended innovative teaching and its impact on learning. Computer Applications in Engineering Education, 32. https://doi.org/10.1002/cae.22733
Deterding, S., Dixon, D., Khaled, R., & Nacke, L. (2011). From game design elements to gamefulness: Defining “gamification”. In Proceedings of the 15th international academic MindTrek conference: Envisioning future media environments (pp. 9–15). https://doi.org/10.1145/2181037.2181040
Díaz Iglesias, S. (2022). Política de Producto, ESIC: Madrid
Díez Martín, F.; Blanco González, A. & Prado Román, C. (2010). Legitimidad como factor clave del éxito organizativo. Investigaciones Europeas de Dirección y Economía de la Empresa, 16(3), 127-143. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1135-2523(12)60038-0
Doolittle, P.,Wojdak, K., &Walters, A. (2023). Defining active learning: A restricted systematic review. Teaching and Learning Inquiry, 11. https://doi.org/10.20343/teachlearninqu.11.25
Duran, MJ; Aciego, JJ; Gonzalez-Prieto, I; Carrillo-Rios, J; Gonzalez-Prieto, A & Claros-Colome, A. (2025). A Gamified active-learning proposal for higher-education heterogeneous STEM courses. Education Sciences, 15(1), 10. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15010010
El-Thalji, I. (2025). Boosting Active learning through a gamified flipped classroom: A retrospective case study in Higher Engineering Education. Education Sciences, 15(4), 430. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15040430
Clark, C. E. J., & Post, G. (2021). Preparation and synchronous participation improve student performance in a blended learning experience. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 37(3), 187–199. https://doi.org/10.14742/ajet.6811
Fleming, N. (2011). Teaching and learning styles: VARK strategies. N.D.
González-Fernández, A.; Revuelta-Domínguez, F.I. & Fernández-Sánchez, M.R. (2022). Models of instructional design in gamification: A systematic review of the literature. Education Sciences, 12(44). https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci12010044
Grant, R.M. (2014) Dirección Estratégica. Conceptos, técnicas y aplicaciones. Thomson Reuters-Civitas. Pamplona
Hartikainen, S., Rintala, H., Pylväs, L., & Nokelainen, P. (2019). The concept of active learning and the measurement of learning outcomes: A review of research in engineering higher education. Education Sciences, 9(4), Article 276. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci9040276
Hayter, C. S., & Parker, M. A. (2019). Factors that influence the transition of university postdocs to non-academic scientific careers: An exploratory study. Research Policy, 48(3), 556–570. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2018.09.009
Hussain, I. (2017). Pedagogical Implications of VARK Model of Learning. Journal of Literature, Languages and Linguistics, 38, 33–37.
Jaramillo-Mediavilla, L.; Basantes-Andrade, A.; Cabezas-González, M. & Casillas-Martín, S. (2024). Impact of gamification on motivation and academic performance: A systematic review. Education Sciences, 14, 639. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14060639
Kalms, E. (2019). Creating assessments as an active learning strategy: too time-consuming for benefit gained? Medical Education Online, 24(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/10872981.2019.1649572
Kramer, M.R. & Porter, M.E. (2006). Estrategia y sociedad: El vínculo entre ventaja competitiva y responsabilidad social corporativa. Harvard Business Review (Edición América Latina), 84(12), 42-56.
Learned, E. P., Christensen, C. R., Andrews, K. R., & Guth, W. D. (1969). Business policy: Text and cases. Richard D. Irwin. (Original work published 1965)
Martella, A. M., Yatcilla, J. K., Park, H., Marchand-Martella, N. E., & Martella, R. C. (2021). Investigating the active learning research landscape through a bibliometric analysis of an influential meta-analysis on active learning. SN Social Sciences, 1, 228. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43545-021-00235-1
Mason, E. S. (1939). Price and production policies of large scale enterprises. American Economic Review, 29(1), 61–74. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1806955
Mercier, M., & Lubart, T. (2023). Board games enhance creativity: Evidence from two studies. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/aca0000547
Murillo-Zamorano, L.R.: López Sánchez, J.Á.; Godoy-Caballero, A.L. & Bueno Munoz, C. (2021). Gamification and active learning in higher education: Is it possible to match digital society, academia and students' interests?. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education 18(15). https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-021-00249-y
Nadi-Ravandi, S., & Batooli, Z. (2022). Gamification in education: A scientometric, content and co-occurrence analysis of systematic review and meta-analysis articles. Education and Information Technologies, 27, 10207–10238. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-022-11048-x
Ogunleye, A. T., Onifade, O., Obadipe, A. J., & Hamidu, M. (2021). Effect of Think Pair Share and Group Investigation Cooperative Learning Strategies on Students’ Performance in Biology in Ekiti State Nigeria. AJSTME, 7(1), 60-66.
Ore, E., David, S., & Alabi, A. (2025). Problem-solving teaching method and business education students' achievement in financial accounting in public universities. Journal of Management and Business Education, 8(1), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.35564/jmbe.2025.0001
Otegui, X., & Raimondi, C. (2024). Enhancing pedagogical practices in engineering education: Evaluation of a training course on active learning methodologies. In M. E. Auer, U. R. Cukierman, E. V. Vidal, & E. T. Caro (Eds.), Towards a hybrid, flexible and socially engaged higher education (pp. 255–266). Springer Nature Switzerland. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-53022-7_26
Palomino, M.D.C.P. (2021). Implications of gamification in Higher Education: A systematic review of student perception. Revista de Investigación Educativa (RIE), 39, 169–188. https://doi.org/10.6018/rie.419481
Porter, M. E. (1980). Competitive strategy. Techniques for analyzing industries and competitors. Free Press.
Porter, M. E. (1985). Competitive advantage. Creating and sustaining superior performance. Free Press.
Rodrigues, L., Toda, A. M., Oliveira, W., Palomino, P. T., Avila-Santos, A. P., & Isotani, S. (2021). Gamification works, but how and to whom? An experimental study in the context of programming lessons. In Proceedings of the 52nd ACM technical symposium on computer science education (pp. 184–190). https://doi.org/10.1145/3408877.3432419
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2020). Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation from a self-determination theory perspective: Definitions, theory, practices, and future directions. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 61, Article 101860. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2020.101860
Squire, K. D., & Jenkins, H. (2003). Harnessing the power of games in education. Insight, 3(1), 5-33.
Suárez-Lantarón, B. (2023). Difficulties for the design and application of co-teaching lessons for pre-service technology teachers. REDU. Revista de Docencia Universitaria, 21(1), 53-69. https://doi.org/10.4995/redu.2023.19310
Walther, B. (2024). Overcoming the Instrumentalization of Gamification?. Iris Journal of Educational Research, 4. https://doi.org/10.33552/IJER.2024.04.000582
Zainuddin, Z., Chu, S. K. W., Shujahat, M. & Perera C.J. (2020). The impact of gamification on learning and instruction: A systematic review of empirical evidence. Educational Research Review, 30, 100326. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2020.100326
Zimmerman, B. J. (2000). Attaining self-regulation: A social cognitive perspective. In M. Boekaerts, P. R. Pintrich, & M. Zeidner (Eds.), Handbook of self-regulation (pp. 13-39). Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-012109890-2/50031-7
Zimmerman, B. J., & Moylan, A. R. (2009). Self-regulation: Where metacognition and motivation intersect. In D. J. Hacker, J. Dunlosky, & A. C. Graesser (Eds.), Handbook of metacognition in education (pp. 299-315). Routledge.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Journal of Management and Business Education

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
License terms at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/legalcode

