Using an online stock market simulation as a cross‐disciplinary learning enhancer: simulation as an example of grey literature

Abstract

This article demonstrates how some nontraditional learning styles and use of software create a more successful learning environment. An online stock market simulation emphasizes the integration of the computer into academic curricula and can be used with different audiences to begin teaching about how the stock market functions with students as young as elementary school, effectively with secondary school students and definitely with undergraduate business students. The stock market simulation involves teams of students investing US$100,000 in “play” money into a portfolio of stocks that the students research and track and from which they make discretionary buy and sell decisions. Teachers have experienced many learning benefits by utilizing a stock market simulation. By working in small groups, team‐building skills are introduced. Through the research and tracking stage of stock selection, critical thinking and deductive reasoning skills are developed and a new curriculum is born that mirrors the reality of the stock market.