SBIR Phase II: A Game-Based Leadership Program

这个小企业创新研究第二阶段项目是一个在线、基于游戏的项目，旨在提高个人在科学、教育、军事、政府和工业领域的领导技能。在所有组织中，领导技能是创新、效率和效力的关键。正在开发的项目建立在经过验证的领导模式基础上，并将传统模式转化为角色扮演游戏。经过实证检验的模型由三个基本策略和六个实践组成，这些策略和实践拓展了领导者的视野，提高了他们解决问题的能力。该项目使用未来主义叙事、3D动画多媒体和挑战性的领导力困境来吸引扮演新手世界领导者角色的学习者。该项目提供领导力方面的指导，然后学习者应用他们新的领导力技能在交战派别之间建立联盟，共同解决全球问题。一系列游戏任务测试学习者的理解力，他们会收到关于所有决定和行动的即时反馈。学员通过社交媒体工具与其他参与者交流，最后与同行和训练有素的主持人一起参加虚拟同步汇报练习，以确保充分理解。管理仪表板提供实时性能数据。该游戏可扩展、可访问，并为重复可玩性而设计。该项目最深刻的创新是它概念化、设计和开发了一个游戏机制和算法系统，模仿基于研究的、面对面的领导力培训模式的促进者主导的人的方面。这种设计需要构建一个后端系统，作为一种人工智能工具，旨在指导用户使用教学材料，预测玩家的行动，就行动和预期的行动提出建议，并提供类似于现场协调员提供的指导的反馈。此外，游戏逻辑支持多条通向成功的路径，其中一些路径是更有效、更优化、更优雅或更合适的选择。游戏逻辑和技术设计是为了反映现实世界中的问题解决和领导力，这在很大程度上是基于开放式决策。游戏机制和相关的后台技术旨在支持开放式决策，从而使游戏对玩家来说更具吸引力和真实性。最后一项创新是将异步在线视频游戏学习体验与虚拟辅导员领导的同步汇报联系起来，这可以在全球范围内完成。该项目将作为与高中生和企业领导人的全球协作练习进行测试。

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project is an online, game-based program to improve the leadership skills of individuals in science, education, the military, government, and industry. Leadership skills are key to innovation, efficiency, and effectiveness in all organizations. The program being developed is built on a proven leadership model and converts that traditional model into a role-playing game. The empirically tested model consists of three basic strategies and six practices that expand leaders' perspectives and enhance their problem-solving skills. The program uses a futuristic narrative, 3D-animated multimedia, and challenging leadership dilemmas to engage learners, who play the role of a novice world leader. The program provides instruction in leadership, and then learners apply their new leadership skills to build an alliance among warring factions and collectively solve a global problem. A series of game quests test learners' understanding, and they receive immediate feedback on all decisions and actions. Learners communicate through social media tools with other players and, at the end, participate in a virtual synchronous debriefing exercise with peers and trained facilitators to ensure full comprehension. An administrative dashboard provides real-time performance data. The game is scalable, accessible, and designed for repeat playability.The most profound innovation of this project is that it conceptualizes, designs, and develops a system of game mechanics and algorithms that mimic the facilitator-led human aspect of a research-based, face-to-face model of leadership training. This design entails building out a backend system as an artificial intelligence tool designed to guide users engaging with instructional materials, anticipate player actions, make recommendations on actions and anticipated actions, and provide feedback similar to guidance an on-site facilitator would provide. Furthermore, the game logic supports multiple paths to success, with some paths being more efficient, optimal, elegant, or otherwise more appropriate choices. The game logic and technical design are built to reflect problem solving and leadership in the real world, which is largely based on open-ended decision making. The game mechanics and related backend technology are designed to support open-ended decision-making, thus making game play both more engaging and authentic for players. A final innovation is the linking of an asynchronous online video game learning experience with virtual facilitator-led synchronous debriefing, which can be done on a worldwide scale. The program will be tested as a global collaboration exercise with both high school students and corporate leaders.