Self-directed learning – a case study using a simulation game and a reflective journal in a marketing strategy capstone course

Capstone marketing courses are being increasingly focused on by governments, scholars and business as an important component in assisting students to transition to employment. This paper demonstrates how learning tools such as a reflective journal and a marketing simulation game can be effectively used in an undergraduate marketing strategy capstone unit. It investigates the specification of student learning outcomes; discusses the role of simulation games and reflective journals and their contribution to learning outcomes; illustrates the application of a student reflective journal and a marketing strategy simulation game; reviews student feedback on the factors that assisted or hindered the simulation game and the reflective learning experience; assesses how the capstone was conducted and the resources needed to make it effective and finally assesses the impact that the capstone experience on student learning.