Simulations in Education

According to Wikipedia (2009), instructional simulation is a reproduction of reality that includes “instructional elements that help a learner explore, navigate or obtain more information about that system or environment that cannot generally be acquired from mere experimentation.” Although simulations are not new, they’ve been around since the 1900’s, they are beginning to take a more active role in education.

Although simulations are generally used for learning and training purposes, they are not instructional. According to the article “a simulation only becomes instructional when instructional elements are included that help expose the learner to key parts or concepts of the system or environment.” Therefore, when simulations are used in the classroom, it is essential that an instructor or some other external element is available to identify key learning aspects of the system to the learner.

There are three types of simulations: live, virtual, and constructive. In education, simulations can vary from role-playing to rope courses. These are considered instructional simulations because they effectively use instructional elements to help learners focus on key behaviors, concepts or principles. Simulations are also being used more and more in elearning environments because of improved Web-authoring tools and an increasing demand for performance-based training. Similar to games, these simulations should be used with caution and should be supplemented with collaborative type activities.