Constraint-directed Business Simulation for Supporting Game-based Problem-based Learning

摘要

This paper presents a constraint-directed approach for business simulation in supporting game-based collaborative problem-based learning (PBL). The business scenario is formulated as a distributed fuzzy constraint satisfaction problem (DFCSP). The structure of the problem is displayed as multi-layered decision networks to facilitate students to gain systematic thinking about complex and ill-structured business problems. Then, the task of PBL is to allow students to explore various "what-if' scenarios to learn certain concepts or hypotheses. A fuzzy constraint-directed agent negotiation mechanism is also provided to mimic more closely and naturally with the spirit of game-based collaborative learning. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed framework, we have developed a prototyped business simulator, MANAGER, and then applied it successfully for a beer game in supporting collaborative PBL.