Development of an issue-situation-based board game: A systemic learning environment for water resource adaptation education

Climate change has severely affected water resources (WRs) today, highlighting the importance of promoting education on WR adaptation (WRA). The goal of WRA education is to cultivate learners' cross-oriented system knowledge (COSK), responsibility for WR environment (RWRE), value of public benefits (VPB), and empathy and negotiating thinking (EaNT). This study developed an issue-situation-based board game, namely Water Ark, to enhance participants' WR knowledge. In this study, participants were divided into four groups with each playing the role of a WR-related organization: the government, agricultural sector, industrial sector and public guild. Scales and interviews were used to assess participants' performance. The findings revealed that during the game, participants gradually changed from profit-oriented self-interest strategies to altruistic strategies based on social public benefit. Furthermore, after playing Water Ark, participants' COSK, RWRE, VPB, and EaNT were found to have improved substantially. Thus, Water Ark is believed to be a useful tool for assisting WRA education.