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Designing Simulations: Design more interactive lessons leveraging AI to be a co-author in designing complex simulation activities for your students.
Jamie Schefen, Acera School (Room 2)
Create a classroom simulation based on the start of WWI, and how entangled alliances helped the war begin. I would like it to be historically accurate.
Goals: The goal of this simulation is for gifted middle school students to learn that a series of alliances helped start a world war during WWI.
Roles: Students should take on different roles. There are 8 groups of students and each should have a role like Great Britain, Serbia, Germany, and other major countries that parties in 1914 that helped spark the start of the first WW1. During each round, students should learn information from the teacher that shifts the game play in the next round. Information should be specific to each country, and it should shift their allegiance, but still be historically accurate.
Objectives and Role Objectives: The entire group should have an objective, and each individual should have an objective. Group objective should be that everyone should want to have more allies, because it will help them feel safer. They should also communicate with other countries by passing notes.
Simulation play: There should be 4 rounds in the simulation. Each will last about 10 minutes. There should be written guidelines for the students. At each round, each country should get a different piece of information that shifts their true allegiances.
Debrief discussions: please create discussion questions for the group after the simulation.
Here is an example of a simulation I have made in the past:
The Industrial Revolution: The Assembly Line Simulation
The goal of this simulation is for students to understand the changes that took place during the transition from the domestic system to the factory system that occurred during the Industrial Revolution. Students will be able to demonstrate how division of labor works through the process of making paper snowflakes on an assembly line. Additionally, students will compare the work of unspecialized/unskilled workers to that of a specialized worker, who will also create a paper snowflake as an artisan. Through the process of completing the simulation, students will also be asked to consider the changes in working conditions that have taken place because of the transition to the factory system.
Procedure
Before using this simulation, students should have had an introduction to the Industrial Revolution. Review its causes and relevant terms before beginning this simulation
Introduce the simulation by explaining that the purpose of today’s lesson is for students to witness the differences in the domestic vs. factory system by acting as either specialized (skilled) or unspecialized (unskilled) laborers.
3. Simulation Preparation: Ask for a total of 7 student volunteers (1 artisan, 5 unskilled factory workers, and 1 factory manager). Rearrange a few desks in the front of the room so that all students can see the assembly line and the artisan at work. Make sure to separate the artisan from the factory workers so that the artisan can be away from the noise and busyness of the assembly line.
o IMPORTANT NOTE: Try to find a student who is artistic to serve as the artisan.
o Depending on the size of your class and classroom, you could have two different teams, or factories, competing with one another so that the factory workers feel more pressure to produce as many goods as possible.You can also emphasize the differences in working conditions between the artisan and factory workers. For instance, allow the artisan to sit, maybe even give him/her a pillow. Give the artisan your best pair of scissors. On the other hand, make the factory workers stand, give them children’s scissors which are more difficult to hold and use. You could even find a YouTube clip of factory background sound effects during the simulation and allow the artisan to listen to music of his/her choice on an IPhone or IPod.
Hand out the two different direction sheets to the artisan and factory workers.
Allow the factory workers to have one trial run. During this time the artisan can begin working
on a design for his/her snowflake.
Give the students (both factory workers and the artisan) 5 minutes. Use a timer or project the
time up on a projection screen using Online Stopwatch. Again, it does not matter whether or not
the artisan completes the snowflake in 5 minutes; however, hopefully it is done so that you can
compare the quality of the product.
While the simulation is occurring, ask the students in the classroom to write down observations.
What differences do they notice between the artisan and the factory workers? Write down quotes of any phrases or words that are used that relate to what it may have been like to work in either setting. After the completion of the simulation, thank the students for their participation. Then, complete the reflection questions through whole class discussion, written response or a
think/pair/share activity.
Artisan Direction Sheet
Your goal is simply to make the best snowflake you can! Be creative as there is no template to follow. Use whatever process you think is best and take as much time as you need.
Factory Direction Sheet
Your goal is to make the MOST snowflakes that you can make in the shortest amount of time possible. Here is the process that you MUST follow in order to ensure that you are making identical snowflakes as quickly and efficiently as possible. Manager, it is your job to make sure that the products are being manufactured quickly. You need to watch the factory workers to make sure that everyone is keeping up the pace. Additionally, you need to keep an eye on the product to make sure it is up to code. If there is a flaw in one of the snowflakes, you can throw it out. If you think the error in production is due to one of your workers, feel free to fire the worker without any warning or explanation and hire another “worker” (i.e. student from the classroom).
Snowflake Production Process:
Worker 1: Fold the piece of paper lengthwise
Worker 2: Match up the top and bottom of the snowflake and fold crosswise
Worker 3: Cut the first portion of the snowflake (see picture below)
Worker 4: Cut the second portion of the snowflake (see picture below)
Worker 5: Cute the remaining portion of the snowflake (see picture below)
The Industrial Revolution: The Assembly Line Simulation
Reflection Questions
1. What are the major differences between the specialized vs. unspecialized workers (skilled vs.
unskilled)?
2. Which would you rather be? Why?
3. Would you prefer to buy a product from a specialized worker or an unspecialized worker? Why?
4. How did the conditions affect the work of the specialized artisan vs. the unspecialized factory
workers?
5. From the perspective of the factory worker, what would it be like to do the same job for 12+ hours a
day?
6. How did the manager influence the productivity and work environment for the factory workers?
7. Overall, what are the costs and benefits of the assembly line?
Simulation Prompt Guide
Create a classroom simulation based on [insert historical event, general idea, etc]. I would like it to be historically accurate.
Goals: The goal of this simulation is for students that are [describe relevant information about students] to learn that [insert learning goals].
Roles: Students should take on different roles. There are [insert number of students] students and each should have a role like [insert type of role they should have]. Please include any necessary contextual information for the students to understand their roles, but limit the information to 2-3 paragraphs.
Objectives and Role Objectives: The entire group should have an objective, and each individual should have an objective. Please create those objectives OR [insert type of objectives].
Simulation play: There should be [insert number] rounds in the simulation. Each will last about [insert amount of time]. There should be written guidelines for the students. During each round, students should learn information from the teacher that shifts the game play in the next round. The information can be specific to the student or it can be to the entire class.
Debrief discussions: please create discussion questions for the group after the simulation.
Below is an example of materials for a previous simulation that I’ve created, please create the simulation in a similar way.
Example:
Create a classroom simulation based on the start of WWI, and how entangled alliances helped the war begin. I would like it to be historically accurate.
Goals: The goal of this simulation is for gifted middle school students to learn that a series of alliances helped start a world war during WWI.
Roles: Students should take on different roles. There are 8 groups of students and each should have a role like Great Britain, Serbia, Germany, and other major countries that parties in 1914 that helped spark the start of the first WW1. During each round, students should learn information from the teacher that shifts the game play in the next round. Information should be specific to each country, and it should shift their allegiance, but still be historically accurate.
Objectives and Role Objectives: The entire group should have an objective, and each individual should have an objective. Group objective should be that everyone should want to have more allies, because it will help them feel safer. They should also communicate with other countries by passing notes.
Simulation play: There should be 4 rounds in the simulation. Each will last about 10 minutes. There should be written guidelines for the students. At each round, each country should get a different piece of information that shifts their true allegiances.
Debrief discussions: please create discussion questions for the group after the simulation.
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