Simulations and Learning By Andrew Carpino Roleplay Simulations

Simulations and Learning By: Andrew Carpino.

Role-play Simulations • Role-play simulations have students take on a specific assigned role, and playing within those assigned roles, address a problem or set of problems. • These have been used to teach students about the complexity of dealing with international issues such as climate change, as well as international crises such as the Darfur Crisis.

Computer Based Simulations • Computer based simulations are simulations that are run on a computer or another electronic device that is capable of running simulations. • These have been to teach students how to about resolving conflicts such as the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, to examine the efficiency of different mediation styles when resolving diplomatic crises, as well as non political science uses as well, such as in business classes.

Benefits of Simulations • Allows for students to apply the knowledge they gained from classes without fear of negative repercussions in real life. • Students remember more of what they learn in simulations than what they learn in traditional lectures. • Simulations can help students feel that concepts, such as accounting, are significantly easier to understand.

Benefits of Simulations (Continued) • Simulations can also help to increase one’s self-efficacy (one’s belief in their ability to complete tasks or actions), and transfer of training (the productive use of trained knowledge and skills at work) • This means that simulations can help students to better apply their knowledge and skills to real life situations, as well as make them more confident in their abilities to solve issues they will encounter in real life. • This can help students to be more productive members of society when they enter the real world.

Maximizing efficiency of simulations • The level of instructional guidance can have different effects on students based on their level of expertise. • Students with low expertise in a subject benefit from high levels of instructional guidance. • Students with high expertise in an area benefit from lower levels of instructional guidance.

Maximizing efficiency of simulations (Continued) • For digital simulations, certain factors can increase how much they raise self-efficacy and transfer of trade. • These include whether difficulty increases are controlled by the user or the system (or whethere are difficulty increases at all), whether the simulations are run in real or simulated time, or whether feedback is given after, during, or during and after the simulation is run.