Providing students with environments and situations that mimic the real world

Overview

Simulation and exploratory learning provide ways for students to interact with environments and situations that mimic the real world. Students can be immersed in both highly realistic environments and situations that mirror those they may encounter in their profession. Simulations also provide a unique ability to recreate dangerous environments, these give students an opportunity to make mistakes as part of the learning process without harmful personal or real-world consequences. The ability to explore these actions and their consequences provide rich individual learning experiences or if working with others, have the opportunity to discuss the options and recalibrate your thinking.

Engagement

Through active learning students take their knowledge to the next step and incorporate it into practice. Simulations can provide deep and profound learning opportunities for students by challenging their knowledge, skill and competency in realistic and authentic situations. They are required to bring together theory and practice in a demonstrable way. Encouraging students to do this in groups and with one another can assist students develop a clear sense of the importance of peer-to-peer learning

Guide

Simulation and exploratory learning environments are often time consuming and difficult to set up and as a consequence their use is currently limited, but that is changing as new and emerging technologies provide simpler ways to author and create simulations. One way to get the development hurdle is to piggyback simulations onto existing platforms, software and games to focus efforts on the purpose of the simulation. Their use as a learning resource can be quite profound because of the direct interaction occurring between the student and the computer model and their ability to directly see the consequences of their actions.

Tools

Tools like Adobe Captivate and Smart Sparrow provide simple ways of creating branching scenarios and can utilise existing tools like Powerpoint to design and create the visual elements. Smart Sparrow also includes a rules engine that can create quite in depth interactions based on choices and interactions that the student performs.

Further Reading