Online Simulation in Higher Education

Kumiko Borman WRIT 671

November 18, 2009

What is simulation?

“The act of imitating the behavior of a situation, problem, or process by means of something suitably analogous. The technique of representing the real world.”

Simulation should imitate the internal processes and not merely the results of the thing being simulated

Group or Meeting or Facility Simulation v.sVirtual Simulation - Branching stories, Game-based, Virtual labs

Simple to highly complex

PBL (Problem Based Learning)

Teachers are no longer just a presenter of information. Students become participants.

Brief History 1955 - Simulation exercise for the U.S. Air Force logistics

system was developed 1956 - The first widely known business game TOP

MANAGEMENT SYSTEM for management seminars 1957 - BUSINESS MANAGEMENT GAME was developed

for a consulting firm 1957 - MANAGEMENT DECISION GAME was used in a

business policy class at the University of Washington By 1961, more than 100 business games were in

existence and more than 30,000 executives had played at least one

Why Simulation? Realistic opportunities to practice skills & apply

knowledge - connecting theory to practice Interactive, dynamic More engaging learning environment Motivate students Foster independent learning and critical thinking Offers opportunities to develop communication,

collaboration, leadership skills Students “create knowledge” by trial and error

Who uses simulation?

Wide range of disciplines Nursing, Public Health Care, Dental Health Business, Marketing, Management Finance, Accounting, Economics, Mathematics, Statistics Computer Science, Programming, Networking Engineering Education Administration History Communication, Language Philosophy

How are they used?Some examples:

Students are assigned to run a company against each other

Teaching children asthma management Replaying history

Students use certain programming syntax to smoothly run traffic lights

Teaching nurse anesthesia in a operating room

Students play stakeholder roles and learn the effects of proposed engineering development project

Students create the best-performing portfolio using trading simulation

Stock market game

Second Life Low cost, secure space Rapid development Communication centered Online lecture, virtual community, poster session, scavenger hunts

Problems & Limitations

They entail significant time, money, and space

Students and faculty too busy to develop and learn the technology

Simulation does not fit course contents Unsatisfactory simulation model Faculty resistance to change pedagogy Students resistance to technology Lack of institutional and technical support Administrative problems Students did not like the simulation

What do teachers think?

They first became aware of it because… I played as a student Through colleagues and publishers

They adopted simulation because… It is appropriate for the course It is the best simulation model It is integrative Easy to administer, has good support

Their teaching objectives are… To give students decision-making experience To integrate theory with practice To have students experience teamwork To have students engage in critical thinking

They stopped to use because… Curriculum change Time it took versus learning benefits achieved

Scale Response

n % Cumulative %

1 207 63.5 63.5

2 53 16.3 79.8

3 36 11.0 90.8

4 9 2.8 93.6

5 8 2.5 96.0

6 3 0.9 96.9

7 4 1.2 98.2

8 2 0.6 98.8

9 2 0.6 99.4

10 2 0.6 100.0

1 - not likely at

all

What is the likelihood that you will stop using simulation?

Scale Response

n % Cumulative %

1 51 16.2 16.2

2 98 31.1 47.3

3 86 27.3 74.6

4 12 3.6 78.4

5 9 2.9 81.3

6 6 1.9 83.2

7 10 3.0 86.3

8 24 7.6 94.0

9 12 3.8 97.8

10 7 2.2 100.0s

1 - complete

accomplishment

How well are you accomplishing learning objectives?

What did students think? Spent more time on assignments

It was motivating It forced me to make better decisions The visual helped me tremendously. I don’t think it could ever be as good as a live class.

I had more freedom to explore various answers and scenarios, and go back to change answers

It was nice to have unlimited time to ponder a topic before you respond.

http://www.smg2000.org/teachers_page2.html

Evaluation Qualitative

SurveyInterviewsFocus GroupObservation

Quantitative Test Performance Survey

Tips for Success Get colleagues recommendations for software Simulation is directly connected to the course textbook

Explicit learning objectives Deals with realistic and down-to-earth problems

Simulation is easy to learn Start with simple examples Provide orientation session at the beginning Understand the program Incorporating reflective component Immediate and frequent feedback

Conclusion Simulation can greatly enhance students’ learning experience if properly implemented.

Instructors need to be fully committed and willing to spend time learning the software, preparing the students, setting objectives, and developing content.

Simulation is a great tool in teaching procedures, decision making, critical thinking, and teamwork.

If used well, both students and instructors are satisfied with the results and experience.