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Grundlagenbildung für Simulationen: Herausforderungen und Chancen
Abstract
Eine der größten Probleme für Simulationen in der Lehre von Europastudien sind Anlaufkosten. Das Schaffen eines neuen Szenarios von Grund auf oder die Adoption eines bestehenden Spiels stellt Lehrende vor Herausforderungen. Dieses Papier diskutiert diese Herausforderungen, im speziellen die Spannung zwischen Spielregeln, die eine komplexe Welt reduzieren sollen und dabei neue Welten erschaffen. Der Beitrag zeigt eine Vielzahl von Möglichkeiten, einschließlich der Entwicklung einer Community von Simulationsentwicklern, den Gebrauch von Online-Anleitungen und der Schaffung von Simulationen, die über Simulationsentwicklung lehren. Diese Ideen werden mit einer Vielzahl von Praxisbeispielen illustriert.
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This volume examines the EU’s changing educational context and its challenges. Based on an extensive survey of more than 2000 European Studies courses in 30 European countries, it maps and analyses the features of teaching methodologies as they emerge from both disciplinary as well as interdisciplinary curricula. It presents a series of case studies on some of the most-used innovative teaching tools emerging in the field such as simulation games, e-learning, problem based learning, blended learning, and learning through the use of social networks. Based on the contributors’ own experiences and academic research, the book examines both strengths and possible pitfalls of these increasingly popular methods. The book’s critical approach will inspire educators and scholars committed to improving the teaching methods and tools in the area of European Studies and other programmes of higher education facing similar challenges.
This article examines the state of assessment in simulation and gaming over the past 40 years. While assessment has come slowly to many disciplines, members of the simulation and gaming community have been assessing the educational effectiveness of their experiential activities for years, in part because of skepticism from more traditional quarters that gaming and simulation are appropriate techniques to use in the classroom. These past efforts to demonstrate educational value usually went by names other than “assessment.” This article reviews research published in this journal using the keyword “assessment” plus a sample of pre-1990 meta-studies on evidence of educational effectiveness. The authors conclude with a discussion of two games, one familiar (SIMSOC) and one new (GLOBAL JUSTICE GAME) that may assist the reader in thinking about assessment strategies and related issues that need to be considered, in particular the role of agency versus structure.
This article explores the use of simulations and games in tertiary education. It examines the extent to which academics use different simulation-based teaching approaches and how they perceive the barriers to adopting such techniques. Following a review of the extant literature, a typology of simulations is constructed. A staff survey within a UK higher education (HE) institution is conducted to investigate the use of the different approaches identified within the typology. The findings show significant levels of use of both computer and non-computer-based simulations and games. The main barrier to teaching with simulations, as perceived by the respondents, is the availability of resources. However, further analysis indicates that use of simulations is not associated with perceptions of resource issues, but rather is influenced by views on the suitability of, and risk attached to, such learning methods. The study concludes by recommending improved promotion of simulation-based teaching through enhanced information provision on the various techniques available and their application across subject areas. (Contains 5 tables and 1 figure.)
Simulations are widely viewed to be effective pedagogical tools; however, evidence concerning their effects on student learning has been largely anecdotal or unsystematic in nature. In addition, most of the literature focuses on fairly complex simulations that require more class time and demand more of students than may be possible in many circumstances, particularly in introductory level classes. In the fall of 2004, I conducted a quasi experiment in order to better understand the potential effectiveness of short and simple legislative simulations in introductory level classes. The conditions under which students in both classes were taught were very similar, with the exception of the simulation, which was only used in one of the classes. Results of a pretest indicated that the classes were not significantly different in either their knowledge of legislative processes or a variety of other potentially relevant characteristics. Analysis of a posttest given to both of the classes after the simulation indicated that there was a difference in knowledge of legislative processes, with the class participating in the simulation performing significantly better than the nonsimulation class. In addition, the simulation class scored significantly higher than the nonsimulation class on the exam following the simulation. These results are important for two primary reasons. First, they provide empirical support for claims regarding the effectiveness of simulations. Second, they indicate that even brief simulations can increase student knowledge.
Validation is the most important tool in evaluating the effectiveness of a simulation model. An integral subset of validation is external validation. Through a historical philosophical discussion and examples, the authors provide a road map to navigate approaches to this topic. The authors also provide methodology suggestions by reconciling foundational philosophical approaches and incorporating a hermeneutical perspective to increase the usability, validity, and generalizability of simulation models.
Markov models are useful when a decision problem involves risk that is continuous over time, when the timing of events is important, and when important events may happen more than once. Representing such clinical settings with conventional decision trees is difficult and may require unrealistic simplifying assumptions. Markov models assume that a patient is always in one of a finite number of discrete health states, called Markov states. All events are represented as transitions from one state to another. A Markov model may be evaluated by matrix algebra, as a cohort simulation, or as a Monte Carlo simulation. A newer representation of Markov models, the Markov-cycle tree, uses a tree representation of clinical events and may be evaluated either as a cohort simulation or as a Monte Carlo simulation. The ability of the Markov model to represent repetitive events and the time dependence of both probabilities and utilities allows for more accurate representation of clinical settings that involve these issues.
Current psychological theory and research affirm the positive affective and motivational consequences of having personal choice. These findings have led to the popular notion that the more choice, the better-that the human ability to manage, and the human desire for, choice is unlimited. Findings from 3 experimental studies starkly challenge this implicit assumption that having more choices is necessarily more intrinsically motivating than having fewer. These experiments, which were conducted in both field and laboratory settings, show that people are more likely to purchase gourmet jams or chocolates or to undertake optional class essay assignments when offered a limited array of 6 choices rather than a more extensive array of 24 or 30 choices. Moreover, participants actually reported greater subsequent satisfaction with their selections and wrote better essays when their original set of options had been limited. Implications for future research are discussed.
Der Band diskutiert die Möglichkeiten, aber auch Grenzen und Probleme von EU-Simulationen und liefert wissenschaftliche Erkenntnisse zur Konzeptualisierung, zum Simulationsdesign und zur systematischen Evaluation von Lernergebnissen. Ferner werden EU-Simulationen als Forschungsinstrument betrachtet, beispielsweise für den Bereich Didaktik und in der Forschung zur europäischen Identitätsbildung. Nicht zuletzt liefert das Symposium Handreichungen, Anleitungen und konkrete Hinweise sowie Tipps für die Durchführung von EU-Simulationen und interaktiven Methoden im Unterricht an Hochschulen und Schulen.
Der Inhalt
Didaktische Überlegungen • Praktische Beispiele • Fazit<
Die Herausgeber
PD Dr. habil. Wolfgang Muno ist wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter an der Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz
Dr. Arne Niemann ist Professor für Internationale Politik an der Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz.
Dr. Petra Guasti ist wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin an der Johann-Wolfgang-Goethe Universität Frankfurt.
This article presents a conceptual framework for determining the appropriate pedagogical techniques in management teaching/training and learning situations. The author notes that the design of effective learning situations requires careful consideration of at least eight input variables or situational contingencies. These variable are course or class goals, course or class content, student motivation, student skills, facilities, resources and norms, institutional and professional pressures or concerns, instructor skills and values and developmental nature of the learning process. The proposed conceptual framework and model are offered as one possible guide for considering the contingencies critical to the design of an effective management course.
A key element of using simulations is the use of participant immersion as a driver of learning, but this is always compromised by the requirements of simulations to simplify the real world. Using a case-study of a university-level Politics module on negotiation, this paper considers how best to balance this tension and enhance immersion. To achieve this, there is an alignment of the central elements of tasks, structures and feedback. Students begin by preparing a conventional research-based essay on the subject matter, which they then convert into a negotiating brief, so allowing for a deeper engagement with the roles that they adopt for the negotiation. Students spend an extended period of time (3 days) in negotiation, which distances them from outside distractions and allows for debate to be much more involved. Immediately after the negotiations conclude, they write up their reflections, which are then returned to some time later, to allow them to consider how their immersion affected their understanding, both then and later. Taken together, this joining up of the phases before, during and after the actual negotiation allows for a much better opportunity for both participant immersion and ex-post reflection. © Common Ground, Simon Usherwood, All Rights Reserved, Permissions.
Simulations, understood as complex role plays, are nowadays widely used in (university) teaching to actively engage students and promote content-specific interactive learning, understanding, and communication. There is a growing debate about the functions and benefits of simulations in the university teaching context. Simulating the EU is not yet as common as simulating the UN, but the use of EU simulations gradually increases. In this paper, we discuss several aspects of EU simulations. First, we briefly review the importance of the EU in current European politics, and to its growing complexity, which represents a challenge for teaching and studying European integration. Second, we indicate that simulations address new didactical demands that arose in the context of the Bologna Process and the so-called 'shift from teaching to learning'. And third, we move beyond the debate of EU simulations as merely an active learning tool, and discuss the (underestimated) role they may play as quasi-experiments, which may constitute a valuable resource both for didactical and European integration research. Together, these three aspects make EU simulations a promising multi-dimensional tool.
This article presents an extensive review of the literature on simulation games for teaching and learning, with a special emphasis on sociology. The key features of simulation gaming are discussed by addressing the following questions: What are simulation games? What are they designed to teach? On what learning theory are they based? How effective have they been? What are the problems involved in using them? How should they be used properly? What are some popular simulation games relevant to instruction in sociology? This paper is addressed to teachers of sociology who are using simulation games currently, those who wish to return to using them, and those who are interested in using them for the first time. The paper argues that even though simulation games long ago passed their peak of popularity, they are still alive and well and offer instructors of sociology one more tool on the pedagogical shelf.
Simulations are being used more and more in political science generally and in international relations specifically. While there is a growing body of literature describing different simulations and a small amount of literature that empirically tests the impact of simulations, scholars have written very little linking the pedagogic theory behind simulations to the strategies and tactics used to develop and deliver them. Drawing insights from the existing pedagogic literature, material in IR simulation articles, and the small amount of existing literature on this subject, we seek to identify patterns in how instructors use simulations to facilitate student learning. Using a constructivist learning theory approach, this article reviews existing theories on the most effective ways to develop and use simulations. Our review of current IR simulation articles indicates that effective simulations are designed to strike a balance between students’ perceptions on what happened and existing theory as to why it happened. Students are then able to use these simulations as a method to judge the theories and to apply lessons from the simulations to current events.
Simulations are employed widely as teaching tools in political science, yet evidence of their pedagogical effectiveness, in comparison to other methods of instruction, is mixed. The assessment of learning outcomes is often a secondary concern in simulation design, and the qualitative and quantitative methods used to evaluate outcomes are frequently based on faulty paradigms of the learning process and inappropriate indicators. Correctly incorporating assessment into simulation design requires that an instructor identify whether a simulation should produce positive changes in students' substantive knowledge, skills, and/or affective characteristics. The simulation must then be assessed in ways that accurately measure whether these goals have been achieved. Proper assessment can help demonstrate that simulations are productive tools for learning and that their popularity in the classroom is justified.
For the past 50 years, scholars and practitioners of international relations have used simulations as experimental, predictive, and educational tools to model real-world environments. This article will focus on the educational applications of simulations in international relations (IR), first reviewing the development of IR simulations and then tracing this history by examining the International Communication and Negotiation Simulations (ICONS) Project at the University of Maryland as a representative example of this genre. It will examine in particular the use of information technologies in facilitating and delivering simulations, and conclude with a brief discussion of how computer-assisted simulations have, in some cases, anticipated trends in the real world of diplomacy, and in others, attempted to respond to new trends.
If education is to be truly student-centred, students should be consulted about the process of learning and teaching. Moreover, within the current higher education climate, it is imperative that institutions move from an 'inside out' approach, where those on the inside 'know' what is best, to an 'outside in' approach where customers' expectations are researched and serviced. The research reported here investigated higher education students' perceptions of and attitudes to student-centred learning. Two studies were conducted, employing the complementary methods of qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis. The first study involved focus groups while the second involved an Internet questionnaire. Results showed that students generally held very positive views of student-centred learning. However, they were unsure as to whether current resources were adequate to support the effective implementation and maintenance of such an approach. Implications of these findings are discussed with respect to educational research and practice.
While many political scientists advocate simulations as an effective teaching tool to facilitate student learning, we have very little systematic evidence that this is true. In this research note I provide experimental evidence showing that six of eight measures of student learning were significantly higher in introductory American Government courses that included a simulation of the United States Senate. These results provide quantitative support for the widespread anecdotal evidence about the teaching effectiveness of simulations.
Provides a step-by-step process for designing effective and interesting simulations. Explains and gives examples for the four steps: defining teaching goals, constructing the simulation, running the simulation, and debriefing. Asserts that simulations develop critical thinking and other skills. Examines possible means of assessment. (MJP)
This article explores the value of experiential learning about international negotiations through role-playing exercises. Simulations have been employed successfully in international relations courses since the late 1950s, but the end of the Cold War has prompted a renewed interest in simulations as interactive teaching tools that capture the dynamics of change in the international system. Building on the existing literature on simulations, I describe an effective role-playing exercise for the new era, the Global Problems Summit, which was originally designed for an advanced undergraduate Political Science course at The College of Wooster. This simulation is structured to fulfill clear educational objectives by providing an opportunity for experiential learning about international diplomacy and the complexity of global problems, an understanding of different national perspectives on these issues, and the development of negotiation and communication skills to promote international cooperation. Three years of successful application lead me to conclude that the Global Problems Summit and related role-playing simulations can truly enliven the international relations classroom and enhance the learning experience.
In this era of heightened calls for accountability and standards, clear visions of competence are more necessary than ever and, moreover, these planned products of education need explicit articulation. Such articulation falls within the purview of the formal curriculum and it is with this that the present article concerns itself. It draws on a past Ontario, Canada curricular initiative, The Common Curriculum, as the vehicle through which to examine the difficulties inherent in spelling out a conception of competence. Such difficulties, it is argued, stem from the inextricable link between definitions of competence and their associated epistemological and pedagogical implications.
The Model United Nations format is one of the most popular active learning techniques to teach students about the evolving system of global governance and the limits of international organizations. In a world where the UN must cooperate with a variety of actors in the international system to address global challenges, students can benefit from simulations that draw on the intergovernmental Model United Nations format, but move beyond it to explore the complexities of negotiation involving state and nonstate actors. This paper discusses the use and development of a simulation for an upper-level international organization course loosely modeled on the XV International AIDS Conference held in Bangkok, Thailand in July 2004. It explores the value of the simulation, including learning objectives and expectations, student preparation in advance of the simulation, post-simulation debriefing, and an assessment of how the simulation can be modified and made more effective.
In the International Organizations classroom, students learn a lot about the nuts and bolts of international organizations in theory, but do not always have the opportunity to understand how international organizations work in practice. Understanding negotiations, diplomacy and interstate relations is essential in understanding the strengths of weaknesses of international organizations. To this end, the use of in-class simulations, where each student represents a different country, can be an effective tool in teaching students about international organizations and global governance. This article describes a simulation run in an International Organizations class in the Fall 2002 semester. It involved a fictitious serious terrorist attack in Singapore during a performance of “Kiddush for Naomi” performed by the Israel Habima Theatre Company. The article describes the goals of the simulation, the preparation the students undertook throughout the semester, the implementation of the simulation itself, and the post-simulation debriefing and assessment of the students and lessons learned for future in-class simulations.
The aim of this paper is to demonstrate that, contrary to a commonly held view, it is possible to teach the European Union (EU) in a way that makes students enthusiastic about the subject. The paper is informed by my experience of leading a EU simulation module, based on a modified problem-based learning (PBL) approach. The idea is to share my experience and prompt a debate on (1) how the EU can be taught in exciting ways for students, and (2) how an adapted PBL approach in the form of a simulation can significantly help to deepen students’ interest in the EU as a subject.European Political Science (2009) 8, 254–265. doi:10.1057/eps.2009.8
This paper reports on a study carried out to establish a decision tree model to describe how women in Taiwan make the decision whether or not to have a hysterectomy. In addition, we examined the predictability of the decision-tree model.
Hysterectomy is the second most common surgical procedure performed worldwide. Medical professionals believe that the operation can relieve pain and prevent cervical cancer, thus improving a woman's quality of life. While most physicians advise hysterectomy even for benign uterine conditions, feminists decry the belief that the uterus has no purpose, believing that it is an important symbol of womanhood.
The study was conducted in two phases. Phase I, the model development phase, was carried out to generalize data from a qualitative study of 14 women and to establish a tree model outlining their decision to proceed with hysterectomy. The second phase was the model prediction phase that applied inductive and deductive methods to data analysis and development of the decision-tree model. The model tree was then tested with 18 women who were deciding whether or not to undergo hysterectomy. Using the decision-making tree, we studied the women's thought processes and analysed their primary concerns. The study was carried out in 1999-2001.
The study determined 13 criteria that Taiwanese women use when deciding about having a hysterectomy. Developed in accordance with Gladwin's methodology, the model tree successfully predicted 90% of decisions whether or not to have a hysterectomy.
Nurses working in gynaecological services should understand how women decide to undergo hysterectomy so that the proper counselling and follow-up can be provided. With further testing, our decision tree may help in this process.
A guide to student-centred learning
- D Brandes
- P Ginnis
Experiencing the European Union: A simulation game on the European Citizens’ Initiative
- M Brunazzo
- P Settembri
Simulations for Teaching and Analysis
- G Winham
The Validity of Social Science Simulations: A Review of Research Findings
- W Heitzmann
Designing In-Class Simulations
- E Smith
- M Boyer