The Effects of Group Size on Attitudes toward the Simulation

Abstract

Burns and Gentry (1977) delineated what they believed were the major variables in the use of simulation games and experiential exercises, pointing out that many instructors frequently ignore many of these when deciding whether to use simulations or experientials and when deciding which specific materials to use. One of the variables mentioned was ‘participant grouping,” and its discussion included the observation that the primary determinants of the type of participant grouping used were class size and the complexity of the exercise decisions. While concern about the complexity of the exercise decisions may interrelate with concern about the learning efficiency of a particular group size, Wilson (1974) also pointed our the concern for administrative problems which increase directly with the number of teams. To some extent then, the size of the groups used in many simulation or experiential exercises has depended upon practical concerns relating to the efficiency of the use of the instructor’s time and not to concerns about how learning can best be facilitated.