Pilot Evaluation of a Tactical Board Game for Training and Assessing ROTC Cadets

摘要

This pilot evaluation examines the effectiveness of a tactical board game in training and in assessing military knowledge and ability of ROTC cadets. The game's training and development utility was measured in terms of the following hypotheses: amount of game playing will be positively related to (1) knowledge of tactics, measured by a paper and pencil test, (2) performance in ROTC Summer Camp, an experience-based leadership training situation. The following hypotheses measured its assessment utility: (1) performance in the game will be positively related to (a) tactical knowledge and (b) performance at Summer Camp; and (2) peer ratings based on observation of game playing will be positively related to (a) game performance, (b) tactical knowledge, and (c) performance at Summer Camp. In general, the findings from this pilot evaluation support the following conclusions: (1) gaming experience is beneficial in training ROTC cadets in tactics as long as several games are played, and the players begin with a low level of tactical competence, and (2) when tested against the available ROTC measures of leadership competence, the game is not a practically useful device for assessing competence.