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Information About Simulations
 
Introduction

A simulation is a technique that teaches about some aspect of the world by imitating or replicating it. Students interact with the program in a manner similar to the way they would react in real situations but in a simpler manner. 


This is a screen shot from "Nile Passage to Egypt" by the Discovery Channel. A guide in a felucca provides users with the tools necessary to explore the area around the Nile River.

The purpose of a simulation is to help the student build a useful mental model of part of the world and to provide an opportunity to test it safely and efficiently.

Simulations and interactive tutorials are different; in simulations, students learns by actually performing the activities to be learned in a context that is similar to the real world.

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Model of Teaching 

A Model of Teaching may have four phases; these are illustratetd in the figure below. Simulations may be used for any of the four phases; they may serve for initial presentation, for guiding the student, for student practice, and for assessing learning. Most simulations offer a combination of the first three or are used solely for assessment. 

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Instructional Principles: Simulations 
  • Planning
    • Use simulations for promoting students' conceptual understanding as well as thinking and problem-solving skills
    • In most cases, prior introduction to the concepts is important for the successful use of simulations.
    • Explain the purpose, procedures, and/or rules for the simulation.
  • Implementation
    • Limit the scope of the simulation to critical aspects of actions or processes.
    • Make students aware of oversimplifications implicit in the simulation.
    • Explain the goal to be achieved and, where appropriate, the role of each student.
    • Simulations can be confusing, and students may need guidance or direction in order to benefit from them. Questions, activities, and scenarios can fill this guidance role.
    • Allow participants to play out their roles with minimum input from the teacher.
  • Evaluation
    • Provide feedback following the simulation (some simulations provide feedback during their use).
    • Conduct follow-up discussions or debriefing with students so they gain the most from the simulation.
  • Examples
    • Students in a social studies class learn about the operations of government by participating in a role-playing simulation about the creation and passage of new legislation.
    • The sixth graders in another class learn about ecology by playing a computer simulation about life in a lake.
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Advantages of Using Simulation Activities on the Computer 
  • Increased Motivation
    Simulations enhance student motivation. Simulated experiences are more interesting than reading about them; for example, changing the controls on a simulated hot air balloon to make it rise and fall would be more motivating than simply text or graphics.
  • Good Transfer of Learning
    Simulations promote the transfer of learning from the simulated environment to a real environment. Simulations give students practice in real life experiences and the opportunity to try out different procedures in an efficient and safe manner.
  • More Efficient Learning
    In comparing two learning situations, one using traditional instruction and the other using a simulation, there might not be any improvement in performance, but the time needed to deliver the instruction might be much less using a simulation. Thus a simulation is more efficient in terms of time needed by the instructor to deliver the instruction and time needed by the student to learn the information needed to accomplish the desired goals.
  • Control of Multiple Variables
    Computers can manage several variables simultaneously. As a result, they can realistically depict complex phenomena, such as the growth and change of a city (SimCity by Maxis). Learners can manipulate these variables to observe their effects on the system being modeled.
  • Dynamic Presentation
    The computer's ability to dynamically present information is important in simulations. Simulated instrumentation can change like the real thing, and processes such as plant growth can be graphically depicted.
  • Time Control
    The computer can contract or expand time to allow study of phenomena that are too slow - such as population growth - or too fast - chemical change - for normal classroom observation. Alternately, a computer can depict a time in history such as the 19th century wagon train (Oregon Trail by MECC) or the development of a city (SimCity by Maxis).
  • Effects of Change
    Many simulations include an element of change or randomness that makes them even more realistic, allowing students to interact with them differently on different occasions. For instance, a flood may occur randomly in a simulated city and cause destruction or unavailability of resources.
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Basic Structure of a Simulation 
 
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Kinds of Simulations

Simulations can be divided into two main groups as illustrated by this diagram.

Click on
PHYSICAL, PROCESS, PROCEDURAL, OR SITUATIONAL
for a summary.

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Web Resources for Simulations 
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In a physical simulation, a physical object or phenomenon is represented on the screen, giving the student an opportunity to learn about it.

A physical simulation is usually not interactive; instead of participating or constantly manipulating data, students select the values or parameters at the beginning of the procedure and then watches the process occur without intervention.

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Process simulations are generally used to inform students about a process or concept that does not manifest itself visibly such as the economic implications and population growth.

Like a physical simulation, a process simulation is usually not interactive; instead of participating or constantly manipulating data, students select the values or parameters at the beginning of the procedure and then watches the process occur without intervention.

Economists use process simulations for forecasting. They select the parameters of the event then run the simulation. Learning occurs when several simulations are run with different parameters and the results compared.

Another feature of a process simulation is the fact that they are an;accelerated or slowed-down version of the real process.

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The purpose of a procedural simulation is to teach a sequence of actions that constitute a procedure. Procedural simulations frequently contain simulated physical objects, but procedural simulations are different from physical simulations. The primary objective of a procedural simulation is to teach the student how to do something, while a physical simulation is designed to teach how something works.

For example, a student might learn how to take pictures by manipulating the options available on a 35 mm camera.

This illustration is from an Authorware program developed by Lloyd Rieber at the University of Georgia.

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Situational simulations deal with the attitudes and behaviors of people in different situations, rather than with skilled performance. Situational simulations usually allow the student to explore the effects of different approaches to a situation, or to play different roles in it.

For example, Tom Snyder Productions has a series of seventeen computer-based software titles that uses situational simulations to teach decision-making and critical thinking skills.

This is a screen shot from "Decisions, Decisions: AIDS."

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