Simulation Learning

Simulation learning is a pedagogical approach that provides a controlled environment for participants to practice and develop essential skills, procedures, and routines applicable to real-world scenarios. This method is particularly valuable in fields such as healthcare, law enforcement, and emergency response, where training in high-risk situations is crucial. By creating a safe space that mimics real-life challenges, simulation learning enables individuals to engage in critical thinking, problem-solving, and teamwork without the immediate consequences of real-world errors.

The structure of simulations can vary, ranging from low fidelity, which relies heavily on participant engagement, to high fidelity, which employs realistic settings and trained actors to enhance immersion. Facilitators play a significant role in guiding these experiences, ensuring that participants stay engaged and are challenged appropriately. Furthermore, simulations can be competitive, incorporating elements of risk and reward to motivate participants.

While assessment of simulation learning can be complex, it often relies on self and peer evaluations to gauge understanding and teamwork. As technology advances, computerized simulations are becoming more prevalent, allowing for greater flexibility and the ability to rehearse uncommon or difficult scenarios. Overall, simulation learning serves as an effective tool for skill development, preparation for real-world events, and exploration of various career paths.

Published in: 2021

By: Hahn, Allison, PhD

Subject Terms

Simulation Learning

Abstract

Simulation learning is the construction of a safe space in which students practice skills, procedures, and routines that will need to be used in the real world. While simulations attempt to be as close to reality as possible, they are always limited by their safety and artificial nature. Therefore, when designing a simulation, facilitators work to include elements of risk or reward. Simulation learning is used by a variety of professionals including doctors, lawyers, and police as a way to update and improve upon their skills. Simulation learning is also used to explore career fields.

Overview

Simulation learning is used as a pedagogical tool in which the teacher can control all aspects of the experience. This form of learning is preferred when training poses a real risk of harm. For example, fire departments use simulations to prepare trainees for fighting real fires (Williams-Bell, Aisbett, Murphy & Larsen, 2017). Doctors (Eppich, Rethans, Dornan & Teunissen, 2018), nurses (Sanko, 2017), and pharmacists (Bowers et al., 2017) use simulations before performing live saving, but also potentially life threating medical procedures. Additionally, simulations are a way to introduce or try out careers before making a commitment or to practice interview skills (Stancia, Dascalu, Moldoveanu & Moldoveanu, 2018). Students often participate in classroom mock trials, Model United Nations, and other governmental and career based simulations that encourage them to think through their career opportunities and understand the ways that various organizations function (Guasti, Muno & Niemann, 2015).

Some simulations have large, prepared sets, materials, and scripts. Others ask the participants to rely on their own imaginations to construct parts of the simulation. It is important that simulations allow participants to think through, critically examine, or debate their options, as well as to sometimes fail when the wrong decision has been made. The success of a simulation is based on the willingness of participants to go along with the scenario (Muckler, 2017). This can be helped by excitement and exuberance of the facilitator. However, no amount of excitement by the facilitator will make up for a lack of willing participation by practitioners or students. In order to increase the willingness of students to participate in a simulation, some simulations are run as competitions with prizes or awards for the best teams. While facilitators will prepare for as many possibilities as possible, they must be prepared to make changes during the simulations. This might be necessary because participants take a different path or use a different set of skills than expected, or because participants have difficulty working through the simulation.

Simulation learning is at times broken into three different levels of difficulty or complexity; low fidelity, medium fidelity, and high fidelity. Low fidelity simulations rely the most on the participants to actively engage. In these simulations, participants are given written instructions and then are asked to fill in their actions and opinions. Medium fidelity simulation learning uses an increased level of participation. This type of simulation may include minimal props but only as many as are needed. For example, when training students in the use of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), many facilitators provide dummies that have only a head a torso. The participants are given a list of directions for conducting CPR, including how to speak to the victim, when to give breaths, and when to use chest compressions. Then, participants are asked to walk through the entire set of directions using the dummy to practice their application of breaths and chest compressions. Instructors are able to watch the participant’s actions, making corrections when necessary. In this way, students are able to learn about the proper way to use CPR without risking harm to a human volunteer. This method of simulation learning has increased the number of individuals who are trained in the use of CPR, and the success of CPR when given to real people who are in urgent need of assistance.

High fidelity simulation learning uses the most realistic settings possible. This can include the use of trained actors or volunteers to provide immersive experiences for the participants. This type of simulation learning is exceptionally helpful for teams of people who need to practice working together in high stress situations. For example, firefighters often practice their skills in training buildings, which are lit on fire and include an element of controlled risk; participants must take conditions in the burning building seriously and work as a team, deploying appropriate skills. Failure under these controlled conditions can prevent catastrophic mistakes later in real emergencies.

Assessment of simulation learning is made difficult as there are so many different factors. The simulation can fail if there are poor instructions, insufficient or poorly operating props, unwilling participants, or poor facilitation. Additionally, it is difficult to grade individual participation in a simulation as the success often relies on the use of teamwork. Assessment is often completed through self-administered and peer evaluations, which ask participants to reflect on their experiences. In the long term, it is at times possible to assess the success of a simulation by comparing team performance in the real world before and after the use of a simulation.

Applications

Scholars have debated the best ways to measure the effect of simulation learning. Because the simulations are not “real,” scholars ask if they actually predict how students will respond under pressure. Despite the difficulty in determining how effective the simulation is, students and teachers often enjoy the experience. For some, the formation of teams and practice working in teams is especially informative.

Simulations require a good deal of preparation before they begin, and the most successful simulations reflect good preparation. When preparing for a simulation, facilitators need to ensure that there are well-developed guidelines and instructions that will allow participants to become immediately emerged into their scenarios. Participants may have unique questions before the simulation begins, but during preparation the facilitators should try their best to predict these questions and answer them in the written materials participants receive. If there are any rules for the simulation, those should be put into writing before the simulation begins. This shortens the time that is needed to introduce the simulation, as well as cuts down on any confusion.

The facilitators should also establish a timeline and estimate how long the activity will take, and if it is a long simulation, how long smaller portions will take. Some simulations occur very quickly and reward participants who finish first. Others take place over a long period of time and encourage quality work as opposed to quick work. For these long simulations, it maybe helpful to give participants a time table which outlines how long each step will take. If necessary, it may also help to build in time breaks for snacks, bathroom use, and reflection in the middle of a simulation. Finally, the facilitators need to review their goals in conducting the simulation—that is, what participants are expected to gain from their participation in the activities.

During the simulation, teachers and facilitators must be closely involved with ensuring that all participants stay on task, are moving through their goals, and are able to active the goals of the simulation. To judge success during the simulation, the facilitator should watch to see if participants seem to be using problem-solving techniques or whether they already seem to know the answer or next step (indicating that the simulation was not difficult enough). Additionally, they should watch to see whether participants are staying on task or distracted and ignoring the simulation. Facilitators should make sure all participants are engaged rather than allow a small group of dominant players to take over the entire simulation. Based on these elements, the facilitators can determine if it is necessary to hold more detailed simulations in the future, and they can refine their program to ensure that future simulations are successful.

Viewpoints

Simulations can be created with a pen and paper, though there has been a good deal of innovation in computerized simulations for applications from peace negotiations (Kamph & Stolero, 2018) to medical procedures (Zahari, 2018). Some of these simulations come with complex sets of gear, which are used to immerse the participant in a learning environment. For example, pilots are trained on flight simulators that are specifically designed to provide the most real-world experience possible, including randomized engine failures, storms, and other problems that pilots may encounter (Martin Murray, Bates & Lee, 2016). This makes their customers comfortable knowing that the pilot has had a lot of training—often hundreds of hours—in the way that a plane should be flown. Additionally, it is a good deal safer than having a new pilot train with a real airplane.

Computerized simulations also have the advantage of recording each action taken by a participant and indicating how long those actions took. This means that when reviewing their work, participants are able to reflect on the decisions they made and assess if, for example, their time might be better distributed or if there was a specific moment or portion of the event that caused them trouble. Another advantage of computerized simulations is that they allow students to practice skills and techniques required in uncommon or difficult situations. In this way, doctors in remote areas, for example, can acquire training through simulation learning that is unavailable with real patients locally.

Some participants arrive at a simulation thinking that they are well prepared to beat the system and can quickly work through every part of the scenario. To ensure that these participants gain as much as possible from their participation, facilitators should ensure that there are interesting twists, misdirection, or new information added as the scenario proceeds. These changes are designed to throw off the participant’s preconceived plans and notions of how the facilitation will work. In doing so, they ensure that all participants gain from the experience and are able to develop the critical thinking and decision-making skills that most scenarios are designed to promote.

For example, students might be tasked with designing a new tool for an imaginary set of clients. The students would be given all of the necessary information at the beginning of the simulation regarding what the client expects, how much they will spend on the new tool, and what materials should be used. The students will begin work on their tools, possibly competing against other teams of students to complete the project fastest or in the most creative way. However, to simulate a real-world twist in working with clients, the facilitator might announce half way through the facilitation that the client has changed the order, and can now only pay half of the previously quoted amount. This twist would require that students reconsider their proposals, make adjustments, and think quickly to complete their work in time.

Many simulations occur in “real time,” meaning that the simulation takes as much time to complete as the real event. This is the case for medical procedures and high-risk teams. However, participants do not always have the time or attention to complete a real-time exercise. For example, students participating in a model UN event do not have the months of preparation followed by weeks of negotiation that is usually afforded to UN diplomats to craft resolutions. Sometimes facilitators choose to slow down the time allocated for a simulation, meaning that they take an event, which in the real world would occur very quickly, and cause it to occur over a long period of time. This technique is used to ensure that participants are able to see each small detail and think through the many different options and reactions that could occur during a real world event.

Due to these time constraints, facilitators often speed up the amount of time that the simulation takes. This might be done by preparing documents in advance so that students do not have to conduct all of their own research, or it could occur by strictly limiting the time allotted for debate and discussion. When changing the time that a simulation takes, the facilitator must spend a lot of time considering the goals of the simulation, and work to ensure that those goals are met in the shortened version of events.

Simulation learning has wide-ranging applications, and as computer simulations improve, scholars expect to find more and more simulations in use. Some of these simulations are crude and require much from the imagination of the user. Others are designed to be fully immersive events. While some simulations are designed to strengthen confidence and exploration, others are designed to help the participant experience failure. In these failure simulations the lesson is not how to complete a task successfully but how to calmly respond when nothing seems to be going correctly. This is training for the worst-case scenario, a lesson which is critical for individuals and teams working in high risk careers such as first responders. Through simulation learning, these specialists are able to train for situations that they hope never to encounter in the world but need to be well prepared for, just in case.

Terms & Concepts

Facilitator: The leader of a simulation, the facilitator provides all necessary background instruction, keeps time, organizes assistants, and generally ensures the success of the simulation and the simulation’s learning goals.

Flight Simulator: Training device used to prepare pilots in training. Some flight simulators are used to familiarize students with checklists, procedures, and cockpit layouts; more sophisticated full-flight simulators use hydraulics, visuals, and special effects to create the sense of a plane in motion.

Model United Nations: A simulation designed for secondary and undergraduate students in which students role play UN diplomats. Participants, or “delegates,” represent various countries and organizations and meet in conference with delegates from other schools to resolve a topic.

Real World: Simulations are designed to occur in a safe space, which prepares participants for the actual event, known as the “real world.”

Simulation: An imitation of the real world, sometimes in extensive detail and sometimes requiring an active imagination on the part of the participant.

Strategy Simulation: Often used to develop teams and team leadership, strategy simulation helps co-workers to understand their role as part of a team and to practice their process of working as a team.

Bibliography

Bowers, R., Tunney, R., Kelly, K., Mills, B., Trotta, K., Wheeless, C. N., & Drew, R. (2017). Impact of standardized simulated patients on first-year pharmacy students’ knowledge retention of insulin injection technique and counseling skills. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 81(6), 113. Retrieved December 1, 2018 from EBSCO Online Database Education Source. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=125158851&site=ehost-live

Eppich, W. J., Rethans, J. J., Dornan, T., & Teunissen, P. W. (2018). Learning how to learn using simulation: Unpacking disguised feedback using a qualitative analysis of doctors’ telephone talk. Medical Teacher, 1–7.

Guasti, P., Muno, W., & Niemann, A. (2015). Introduction–EU simulations as a multi-dimensional resource: From teaching and learning tool to research instrument. European Political Science, 14, 205–217.

Kampf, R., & Stolero, N. (2018). Learning about the Israeli–Palestinian conflict through computerized simulations: The case of global conflicts. Social Science Computer Review, 36(1), 125–134.

Martin, W. L., Murray, P. S., Bates, P. R., & Lee, P. S. (2016). A flight simulator study of the impairment effects of startle on pilots during unexpected critical events. Aviation Psychology and Applied Human Factors, 6, 24–32.

Muckler, V. C. (2017). Exploring suspension of disbelief during simulation-based learning. Clinical Simulation in Nursing, 13(1), 3–9.

Sanko, J. S. (2017). Simulation as a teaching technology: A brief history of its use in nursing education. Quarterly Review of Distance Education, 18(2), 77–85. Retrieved December 1, 2018 from EBSCO Online Database Education Source. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=125876174&site=ehost-live

Stancia, I. C., Dascalu, M. I., Moldoveanu, A., & Moldoveanu, F. (2018). Virtual reality training system for improving interview performance. ELearning & Software for Education, 2, 262–267. Retrieved December 1, 2018 from EBSCO Online Database Education Source. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=129458669&site=ehost-live

Williams-Bell, F. M., Aisbett, B., Murphy, B. A., & Larsen, B. (2017). The effects of simulated wildland firefighting tasks on core temperature and cognitive function under very hot conditions. Frontiers in Physiology, 8, 815.

Zahiri, M., Booton, R., Nelson, C. A., Oleynikov, D., & Siu, K. C. (2018). Virtual reality training system for anytime/anywhere acquisition of surgical skills: A pilot study. Military Medicine, 183(S1), 86–91.

Simulation Learning

On this Page

Subject Terms

Simulation Learning

Abstract

Overview

Applications

Viewpoints

Terms & Concepts

Bibliography

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