FAQs

Using simulations suggests a number of questions and problems. In this section, we look at those, to help demystify what is going on.

Why bother using simulations?

Simulations offer a very different approach to learning & teaching, opening new learning spaces for students and offering new opportunities for the instructor. They help to expose some of the fundamental principles behind social science, namely our efforts to model the world around us through relatively simple concepts, and the complexity that emerges from those simple ideas.

What do my students get from it?

Students get to have a ‘lived experience’, to take on roles and positions and use them in an active way. This in turn builds much deeper student understanding of often complex issues and situations, as well allowing them to develop a wide range of skills (e.g. research, preparation, presentation, negotiation, reflection) that have a wider value. By moving away from a passive model of learning to an active one, students can better understand how their time in the classroom fits with the world outside.

What do I get from it?

For an instructor, simulations offer a new way into the material they teach, shifting the focus on to students’ understandings and experiences and opening up debate and reflection. The shift in approach can engage students in a different way, changing the dynamic of a group and building its group identity. In addition, the sheer variety of responses to a given simulation can help you take a second look at things that you have taken for granted.

Isn’t it a lot of work?

Short answer: yes. Longer answer: yes, but it is well worth it. Simulations take time to create and refine, as well as to put in place the necessary preparatory work with colleagues and students, the observation during the simulation, and the feedback afterwards. However, while that cost is quite high for a first-timer, you can reuse a lot of that for your subsequent efforts. The pay-off comes with the experience it offers students, not only for their knowledge and skills development, but also for their engagement with their studies.

How do I create my own simulation?

This is the big question. While we need to recognise that the variety of possible simulations is so vast as to defy creating standard models, we can still see some key steps. Firstly, you need to identify a central puzzle that you want students to address: this might be a theoretical concept, or a practical case-study. This is the trickiest part of it all, for once you have that central idea, you can then work relatively easily through the following questions: what kind of interaction will you use to explore the idea (e.g. formal meeting, role play, producing a negotiated document)? How many students will play? How much time do you have? Do you need to assess it?

Because this can feel like a rather abstract explanation, you can also watch the following video where we take through a practical example (of this crisis game simulation). There is also an exercise that takes you through this process.

When you are done, there are some questions you might ask yourself, to check if you are still on track:

· Is the central purpose of the simulation still clearly in focus, i.e. is it conceptually clear?

· Can the simulation be explained to players in simple terms, i.e. is it practically accessible?

· Is the volume of work placed on players reasonable and proportionate, i.e. it is practically viable?

· What is the worst that could do wrong with the gameplay, i.e. does it have failsafes?

· Could the work all be done in another way that met all the objectives, that wasn’t a simulation, i.e. is it worth doing it at all?

How complicated does it have to be?

This is a bit of a trick question, because the answer is that this is entirely up to you. For new users of simulations, it is worth just trying something simple, and then building out from it in later runs. The main point to keep in mind is that you need to make sure that whatever you do, the central objective is still clear to all involved; additional complexity might better reflect the reality of a given situation, but it might also distract from the idea you wish to communicate and it might produce some unanticipated effects.

How long does it have to be?

Again, a bit of a trick question: you decide how long it should be. Short simulations (30 minutes to an hour) can be very simple in organisation, with little or no preparation needed. Anything longer usually needs you to think about preparatory reading or activity, as well as how you will observe everything: if you are looking at a day-long or multi-day event, questions of refreshment and food become relevant. In practice, the main constraint is institutional – you have the time that the timetable allows. Usually that points towards shorter simulations, but you can also split a long simulation into smaller and shorter elements.

Do I need a special room?

Not really, but you do need to think carefully about what your students will be doing. In particular, you need to know if your students will be moving about at all: if so, then you have to avoid rooms with fixed furniture (e.g. lecture theatres). These latter are good for former debates, but really hamper movement. Typically, students will need space to sit and to write, so flat-floored rooms are usually best. Again, you might be constrained by your institutional timetable and room availability: if you have a large group, then you might consider splitting it up into smaller ones that go into different rooms.

How many students do I need to run a simulation?

Anything from one upwards. Single player games usually need some counterpart (in the form of a computer or a game-sheet) and are rare: simulations’ value comes from the interaction between players. Debates work best between 8-20 people (i.e. a seminar group size), so aim for that: larger groups need more structured debate, with roles being played by teams with spokespersons. The danger in large groups is that often there is little for most people to do, so you need to think about how to give them a useful function (e.g. by running parallel sessions).

Do I have to test students on what they’ve done?

This is up to you. When starting out, with a short and simple simulation, it is usually not necessary. However, if the simulation becomes a bigger part of the contact time with the students, then assessment can be a way of increasing student engagement. There are three main options for assessment:

· Test the students’ knowledge, based on their simulation. This can be done by a standard essay or exam, typically when the simulation is an elaboration of elements covered in other sessions of a module;

· Test the students’ skills development. This might be by observation of their actions during the simulation. In this case, attention needs to be paid to how you will cope with any requirement for second- or external-marking: videoing the session might suffice, but discussions with relevant parties should be had;

· Test the students’ critical thinking. Here you ask students to produce a reflective piece after the simulation, discussing their actions, scope for improvement, etc. This approach can be coupled to the other two and has the benefit that it emphasises the importance of self-reflection to students.

Can’t we just do this online?

Of course you can, although you still need to go through all the stages discussed here. Most simply, online channels can be added to a face-to-face simulation, either for communication (email, IM, Twitter, etc.) or for building collaborative documents (wikis). In some cases, a fully online model might be appropriate (e.g. when exploring the impact of online communication on negotiations). However, replacing interaction between students with interaction with a computer programme will lose much of the point of a simulation.

What subjects can I cover with a simulation?

Pretty much anything you like. Topics that lend themselves well to simulations are those which are relatively complex, with multiple dimensions, where students get to see how those dimensions interact with each other. For simple concepts, simulations can offer a powerful and memorable learning experience, but typically have a low density, i.e. they take a long time to make a short point.

Is it always right to use a simulation?

No, it is not. Simulations are not a be-all and end-all, but rather one tool that we should have at our disposal. They require students to engage with the scenario and presuppose that they either have sufficient prior knowledge to participate or will be motivated to get that knowledge quickly. Those assumptions might not be justified and that is a judgement you have to make. You should not use a simulation for the sake of it, but because you feel it will add value.

I just sit in the corner, while they get on with it, right?

Not at all. Simulations are nothing without feedback, so that requires you to be in a position to give that feedback. This means taking notes, video, photos, audio, whatever you might need to capture what is happening in the room: this is a function of the size and length of the simulation. One point to remember is that an individual cannot watch more than a handful of people for any length of time, especially if those people are also using online and informal communications, so you might need to get more helpers to come in, especially if students are going to be tested on what they have done in the simulation itself.

How do I give students feedback on what they’ve done?

When taking observation notes, focus on the three main elements:

· Actors: who does what? Who leads and who follows? Who has ideas and who arbitrates?

· Process: what is the pattern of interaction? What is the dynamic of the simulation?

· Outcomes: what is the result? If there is a document, is a ‘good’ or ‘realistic’ one?

As soon as possible after the simulation finishes (ideally, immediately after), start by asking students to talk about what they have found: often they will come up with points you have missed, so it is good to show that you are giving a space to their reflection. Only then do you add in your observations and connect it to other learning. Showing students video of themselves can be a good way to correct mis-remembering.

What if it all goes wrong?

This is a matter of debate. Some people want to be confident that their simulation will roll down the tracks they have planned. Others, including this author, feel that a part of using simulations is precisely that it allows for things to go off the rails: it is a safe way for students to make mistakes and then learn from them. Broadly speaking, if it does not end in violence or the sundering of relationships, then it has not ‘gone wrong’, only gone differently from expectations: students need to be forewarned of the possibility, but without judgement.

How do I know if my simulation has worked?

This depends on what you set out to achieve. If you use assessment then you will have a measure of success, but even if you don’t then the feedback process should give you some understanding of student insights: do not be afraid to ask them what they thought of the simulation as a simulation. That participant feedback is often the most useful, because it is only in the playing out of a simulation that one gets to see how it works (or doesn't) – for that reason, you might consider playing it yourself with colleagues.