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Development and implementation of a lean hog futures trading game to enhance student engagement and learning
Undergraduate animal science students often have little knowledge or understanding of commodity markets and often struggle with the concepts and use of futures markets. To introduce swine production and management students to these concepts and principles, a futures trading game was developed and modified to be implemented during a class session. This game replaced a traditional lecture and allowed students to interact, strategize, negotiate and observe how a market works. This pedagogy helped meet specific course goals, including, 1) identify, describe and explain key concepts in today’s industry; 2) demonstrate comprehension by solving issues and scenarios associated with the industry, and 3) analyze different management and marketing principles currently used in the industry. The game was designed to allow students to be producers or industry consumers looking to buy, sell, or hold contracts over four rounds of play. Each round included spot pricing, futures trading, and price expectation and verification. Students (n = 23) were evaluated through pre- and post-game assessments to determine if the activity increased their understanding of swine markets, based on a scale where 1 = disagree and 10 = agree. Criteria for increasing knowledge was a positive change in individual assessment score, successfully applying knowledge was defined as 90% of the students receiving a grade of > 80% on the marketing section of the exam, and a successful educational experience was defined as the students rating the experience > 7. All students significantly increased (P < 0.05) their knowledge of hog markets, based on their before (3.87) and after (6.91) self-assessment scores. Students’ application of knowledge was significantly greater (P < 0.05) when participating in the futures game (92.55 ± 4.86%) compared to those that did not (84.16 ± 3.50%). Students enjoyed the method of learning (9.00) and believed it increased their comprehension of the material (8.83). Students believe that the course objectives were met (8.09) and that the lean hog futures trading game was an appropriate learning strategy to use in a swine production course (8.13) because it provided opportunities for practical experiences (8.39), which are continuously requested by students (9.83). Despite these positive results, students rated the industry and market realism of the game only average (5.09) and modifications to the game will continue to be made as the game continues to be used in classes in order to cultivate students’ interest in swine production.
Keywords:
trading game, swine production, hands-on learning