Developing scholarship through collaboration in an online roleplay-simulation: Mekong eSim, a case study

Abstract

Mekong e-Sim was designed to create an authentic learning environment in which students from different disciplines work together to learn about the complexities of environmental decision-making. The version of Mekong e-Sim that is reported here involved students of the subjects Asia-Pacific Development (geography), Technology Assessment (technological developments and impacts in engineering) and Environmental Engineering. During the Mekong e-Sim, students collaborated to adopt different stakeholder roles and initiate and respond to major events relating to economic and environmental development in the Mekong region. Key tasks included responding to topical news events, making submissions to public planning inquiries, writing reports and debating development issues in the Mekong region. Through their participation in Mekong e-Sim, students developed understanding of the complexities of decision-making, appreciation of the range of perspectives associated with environmental management and developed subject specific skills and understandings. A description of the design and evaluation of the Mekong e-Sim is provided in McLaughlan et al. (2001). The development of the teaching project was a collaborative, cross-institutional teaching development that brought together staff with a range of skills and expertise. Despite the fact that there has been increasing attention to scholarly values in universities in recent years there has been little consideration of what this might look like. This paper uses the case of the development and teaching of Mekong e-Sim to investigate scholarly teaching, particularly the process and practice of scholarship and teaching in a team situation.