Playing with Numbers: The Social and Behavioural Impacts of Using a Card Game to Teach Business Metrics

This study investigated the social and behavioural impacts of employing a card game designed to support the teaching of business metrics through active peer-to-peer engagement, contrasting with traditional passive lectures. Grounded in Bandura’s Social Learning Theory (SLT), the study used a multiple-methods approach including student feedback, a focus group, and an interview. A novel card game, Metrics Masters©, was played by 390 students across a range of educational levels and settings. The research found that the game effectively introduced and reinforced their understanding of key business metrics, while simultaneously enhancing social interaction, teamwork, and problem-solving among Millennial and Generation Z students. The findings underline the efficacy of game-based learning and its close alignment with the SLT principles of observation, imitation, and social interaction. The theoretical contribution of this paper lies in its explicit application and extension of SLT within the context of business education, illustrating empirically how social interactions facilitated by game-based activities significantly enhance learning outcomes. Furthermore, this paper contributes to educational practice by providing robust evidence that game-based learning methods can effectively address educational challenges heightened by the COVID-19 pandemic, offering actionable strategies for educators aiming to foster both academic and social development among students.