Developing A Narrative Assessment Framework To Enable Learning Within U.S. Department of Defense Wargaming

U.S Department of Defense (DoD) wargaming effectiveness may depend on the quality of in-game individual and group learning experiences and an ability to demonstrate meaningful learning over time. The wargaming community does not have an assessment methodology that could systematically explore learning experiences during periods of in-game storytelling. Similarly, the wargaming community faces several obstacles in generating empirical evidence; that is, we have no empirical evidence that wargaming “works.” Marginalization of individual and group learning experiences – or worse – not collecting and reflecting upon unique moments of learning within the story-living environment contribute toward reification and (re)enactment of presented narratives throughout U.S. institutions. Wargaming may continue to incubate flawed inputs, outputs, and outcomes until the basis for its assessment is fundamentally transformed. Developing a novel narrative assessment tool could assist in deriving greater value from wargames to better inform U.S. policy options necessary to de-escalate, mitigate, or respond to conflict. This research provides a comprehensive mixed-methods approach that examines existing factors that both contribute to and inhibit meaningful learning within DoD wargaming over time.

Author

• Stebbins, David

• Assessment
• Department of Defense
• Group Dynamics
• Learning
• Narrative
• Wargaming

Identifier

hdl:1920/13972

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:MARS:1920/13972