Improving Entrepreneurial Skills in the Vocational Training of Agricultural Students by Digital Game Based Learning. The project aims at developing a digital tool to promote the improvement of entrepreneurial skills in students studying at agricultural technical colleges. Entrepreneurial skills are compulsory elements in the curricula of vocational training courses in several member states. They have been selected by the European Union as one of the Lisbon Key Competences for the years to come. Likewise the possession of these skills is important to keep and develop the competitiveness in the agricultural sector. From a wider perspective the project also aims to bring positive impact on the participating countries’ unemployment rate in the agricultural sector. Notwithstanding these facts, due to the interest of the projects’ target group, special motivational tools have to be applied to raise their attention and make them even enthusiastic about these topics. From 2006, the role of digital game-based learning, a novel approach in education, has been brought into the focus of attention. With the use of this method the partnership works out a digital game based learning platform with enclosed teachers’ handbook, using the revised content of previous Lifelong Learning project LEBEBO. Project description: The project focuses on a new education model that improves entrepreneurial skills in the agricultural sector so that technical college students can perceive owning enterprises as a life style and career option. Most important project phases: 1) developing a questionnaire and a demo game to assess the competences that need to be developed. 2) defining competences 3) developing game elements for competences 4) developing online platform in the languages of project partners 5) testing, debugging 6) re-assessing competences Details: According to the results of the questionnaire, 5-8 competences are selected; then a curriculum including games is developed to improve them. The curriculum focuses on soft skills such as creativity, decision making, etc. Each training unit is based on one such skill. For each skill, various mini games and a board game are developed. These games are incorporated into a contest between individuals or classes to promote the motivation of students. When checking the results of games, the rate of right and wrong answers is measured and the resulting data are used to develop further exercises. For example, if wrong decisions are the results of lacking factual knowledge, then this area should be improved first, by means of some minor tasks. The platform will operate in the languages of project partners as well as in English. Location specific business information (e.g. VAT) will be included in the version developed in the relevant language. At the end of year 2, a new assessment is carried out. We hope we will be able to demonstrate the results achieved by game based learning by the difference measured in entrepreneurial skills. The partnership has been selected based on both the target group’s needs and previous long-term project experiences focusing on each partners’ strengths and capacities.
The project aims at developing a digital tool to promote the improvement of entrepreneurial skills in students studying at agricultural VET schools. Entrepreneurial skills are compulsory elements in the curricula of vocational training courses in several member states. One of the 8 key competences identified in the Lisbon Strategy is the improvement of entrepreneurial competence, which includes both striving for changes and the ability to accept and exploit new external solutions while developing a strategic approach. Likewise the possession of these skills is important to keep and develop the competitiveness in the agricultural sector. Becoming an entrepreneur can create jobs for young people and contribute to continue carrying on with the family business. From 2006 and particularly from 2010, the role of digital game-based learning, a novel approach in education, has been brought into the focus of attention. From 2013, varied methods, recommendations related to the application of gamification were published in the education sector. The Agropoly platform, as the main outcome of the project is based on this new, game-based methodology using the revised modules of the „Learn to Become your Own Boss” (CZ/10/LLP-LdV/TOI/134003) project implemented by CULS. The project carried out two intellectual outputs: IO1 – Agropoly online platform and IO2 – Teacher’s Handbook. The development of the main outputs were preceded by a survey, which aimed at identifying the main competences to be improved by the game. Based on this survey, the following competence centres were identified: • Responsibility & Risk taking • Decision making, planning & Leadership • Cooperation, networking & Communication • Innovativeness & Creativity • Time management & Planning • Information analyzing, processing & Summarizing The modules in the curricula of teaching entrepreneurship varied in each partner country, therefore we created a frame story (the general goal of the game is to revive a devasted agricultural land), where each competence center forms an independent module. A mentor belongs to each competence center, who is a guide for the players during the game. After registration, students are landing on an abandoned agricultural land, where they can start playing with the minigames and collect agricultural assets. Players can move up a level by collecting the sufficient amount of these agricultural assets and they can compare their performance with others’. Type of the games: • Minigames • Decision trees • Board games The knowledge garden: • Knowledge bases • Glossary • Case studies The theoretical knowledge background of the minigames can be found in the knowledge bases. At minigames, players can test their acquired knowledge and competences through agricultural examples. The minigames have the following sub-types: o Quiz o Gallows tree o Memory cards o „Set theory” games o Videos with quiz o Drag’n’drop o Gap filling o True of false The Agropoly platform is available in all partner languages and in English. The main advantage of the English version is, that it is suitable for extension of knowledge of the English terminologies in agriculture. At game-based learning, the motivational power of the game helps students solving the learning tasks. We created a game structure, where students can restart one minigame as many times as they would like in order to learn the right answer and feel more and more successful each time. We also developed an online board game that students can play together with their friends. The 600 board game questions refer to all of the topics in the agricultural education. Each competence center contains a decision tree with real life situations, where the right and wrong answers are illustrated with a variety of graphical elements. Case studies have added values, as they introduce good entrepreneurial examples for students. A glossary was also added to the game, which helps students to understand certain terms. The game was tested by 500 students, teachers and their feedbacks were built in the final version of the game. IO2 – Teacher’s Handbook This contains methodological recommendations for teachers. It is available in all partner languages, including 50 copies printed in Hungarian and in Romanian and 30 copies printed in Spanish and in Czech. The partnership organized 5 transnational and 1 trilateral meetings, where partners could work on the development of the intellectual outputs together. Moreover, one multiplier event was organized in each partner country, where 220 participants from the primary and secondary target groups took part altogether. The evaluation was made by one of the partners, who helped the project management providing feedbacks from the results of the evaluation questionnaires. The vocational schools participated in the project will apply the realized serious game in their teaching practices in the future.