How is simulation used in the classroom

The teacher controls the parameters of this "world" and uses it to achieve the desired instructional results. Students experience the reality of the scenario and gather meaning from it. A simulation is a form of experiential learning. It is a strategy that fits well with the principles of Student-Centred and constructivist learning and teaching.

Simulations are characterised by their non-linear nature and by then controlled ambiguity within which students must make decisions.

The inventiveness and commitment of the participants usually determines the success of a simulation. Simulations promote the use of critical and evaluative thinking. Because they are ambiguous or open-ended, they encourage students to contemplate the implications of a scenario. The situation feels real and thus leads to more engaging interaction by learners.

Simulations promote concept attainment through experiential practice. They help students understand the nuances of a concept. Students often find them more deeply engaging than other activities, as they experience the activity first-hand, rather than hearing about it or seeing it. Simulations help students appreciate more deeply the management of the environment, politics, community and culture. For example, by participating in a resource distribution activity, students might gain an understanding of inequity in society.

Simulations can reinforce other skills indirectly, such as Debating , a method associated with some large-scale simulations, and research skills. Resources and time are required to develop a quality learning experience with simulations. Assessment of student learning through simulation is often more complex than with other methods. Simulated experiences are more realistic than some other techniques and they can be so engaging and absorbing that students forget the educational purpose of the exercise.

Osmond, M. The use of simulation games in teaching family sociology. The Family Coordinator, 28, Rocha, C. Evaluating experiential teaching methods in a policy practice course: The case for service learning to increase political participation. Journal of Social Work Education, 36, Truscott, M. Enhancing the macroeconomics course: An experiential learning approach. Journal of Economic Education, 31, Cite this resource : Caniglia.

Simulations as a Teaching Strategy. Teaching Tools in a Flash. Skip to main content. Live Chat. Simulation as a Teaching Strategy. Implementation Three elements are necessary for effective simulations; preparation, active student participation, and post-simulation debrief. Preparation varies with the type and complexity of the simulation. Most simulation creators suggest that simulations are best when: Simulations are tied to the course goals. Facilitators read ALL the supporting material for the simulation.

Facilitators do a trial run or participate in the simulation before assigning the simulation to students, when possible. Facilitators make sure that university facilities support the simulation when facilities are needed.

Instructors integrate instructional simulations with other pedagogies such as cooperative learning. Instructors should anticipate ways the simulation can go wrong and include this in their pre-simulation discussion with the class. Active Student Participation: Effective learning comes through simulations when students are actively engaged.

Students should predict and explain the outcome they expect the simulation to generate. Every effort should be made to make it difficult for students to become passive during the simulation. Every student must assume a role that they may or may not know before the simulation. Often it is not known until the simulation.

Post-Simulation Debrief: Post-simulation discussion with students leads to deeper learning. The instructor should: Provide sufficient time for students to reflect on and discuss what they learned from the simulation. Prepare question to ask during the debrief to ensure students see alignment between the simulation and the course goals. Case study?

A game is an activity where students are active and someone is winning or losing to demonstrate a viewpoint. Simulations are more involved, involving taking on a role and trying to solve a problem or work through an event. In a case study, you look inside and outside—no roles are given. Part of the goal of a simulation is to put students in a situation where they are actively involved. Simulations are a preference as they help students understand by experience the time and decision-based conditions in a way a lecture can only mention.

The experience of simulation can increase long-term retention and memory of material. How do you prepare students for simulations? In some cases, you do not, but in other cases you do. It all depends if by telling them, it will affect their performance. The discussion should be after. By preparing students it may lessen the reaction. In other cases, you may want them to know basic expectations-take on a role, actively engage, fill out forms as you go?

Where do you get questions for your simulation debrief? The questions for must address the purpose of the simulation and be aligned to your course objectives. Do simulations ever go awry? Yes, when they do, you have to reign them in. Students can get carried away or are not prepared. Try to anticipate some challenges and guide students back if they have gotten away from a particular learning objective. What happens if students do not prefer experiential learning? This happens occasionally.

You must have a point to the simulation. You can share something you observed or experienced related to reluctant participants. For example, an exercise for software engineering students could involve the creation of a piece of software or system according to a realistic design specification, with changes and refinements being requested by the client played by the tutor during the process. This would accurately model the real-world environment the students are likely to work in, where clients change their requirements and priorities during a project as a result of complex factors.

A similar exercise would also work well in other disciplines that involve the creation of artefacts for clients, such as graphic design, architecture, contract law, etc. For a simulation exercise to be successful, it is essential that the scenario reflect actual practice and genuine situations as closely as possible.

Therefore, an exercise for journalism students might be write a blog article or web page for a breaking story, using social media to conduct some of the research — reflecting the types of activities and tools encountered by professional journalists today. However, it is possible to slow down or speed up the scenario, if appropriate.

This could happen in situations where, in reality, a series of decisions need to be made rapidly and the students need to be given time to contemplate each decision, or where a very slow process is being simulated and there would be lots of time waiting for the effects of each decision to appear.

Being able to adjust the timescale of the simulation allows students to make more considered decisions, reflect on their choices and analyse the results in greater detail than would be possible in a fast, real-time situation. The tools and technologies that would be suitable for a simulation exercise strongly depend on the situation or scenario that is being simulated.

As the goal is to model the real-world as closely as possible it may be necessary to have specialist equipment and spaces available, but many situations may not require anything other than the software and other tools that students are already using. Where students are using standard software packages as part of the simulation, screen recording software provides a mechanism to capture the details of how they approached the scenario.

These recordings could be submitted by the student as part of an assessment or used as the basis for reflection on their particular approach prior to re-running the simulated scenario.

In addition to enabling students to develop experience in dangerous, expensive and rare situations, simulations using technology can provide a way to relieve pressure on resources. A mobile app was created that allows anyone to work through different scenarios at any time, allowing the students to gain experience in investigating a realistic crime scene when and where it suits them.

Apps such as this require a significant amount of development, however they provide an engaging and immersive experience for the students and there may already be freely available examples in the Apple , Android or Microsoft app stores that could be used rather than creating a new one.

If you are interested in trying out Simulation there are a few practical questions that you should answer:. Having thought about these questions, you should have worked out whether Simulation is an approach that makes sense in your context and have some ideas about how to introduce it.