Exploring the learning effectiveness of financial literacy from the microworld perspective: Evidence from the simulated transactional interactive concurrent system

Because the microworld can create a learning environment that allows learners to interact with the real world, the view of the microworld has been widely used in education and training. In this study, the simulated transactional interactive concurrent system (STICS) was used to provide an environment that simulates the stock market trading of the Taiwan Stock Exchange; the goal is to explore the effectiveness of using STICS in enhancing the financial literacy of students. This study adopts a quasi-experimental design approach and divides students into two groups. The intervention group was made up of 42 students who learned financial knowledge aided by STICS, with a comparison group consisting of 43 students who learned with traditional lecturing and dictating methods. The study found that learners who used the STICS as an aid to learn financial knowledge had significantly better learning effectiveness than those who did not use STICS, in terms of motivation, attitude, and achievement. The intervention group also made significant improvements in average scores in learning motivation and achievement after 8 weeks of experimental teaching and learning.