An Overview of Simulation Technology

Mention the term "simulation" and many people immediately bring to mind a flight simulator. In general, simulation involves placing people in realistic settings for the purpose of training or performance assessment. Simulation may take many different forms, including: "live" role-play, two- or three dimensional computer-based "virtual" environments (such as a flight simulator or virtual reality), computer gaming environments, and realistic video presentations. One may even make a case for including mental imagery as a type of simulation.

These examples point out that simulation doesn’t necessarily have to involve high-end (and expensive) computer platforms, such as those used to train pilots. Research has demonstrated that even low fidelity simulations can provide an effective medium for training and assessment. In this case, the term fidelity is equivalent to realism. The power of simulation technology for training is that it allows individuals to experience realistic situations they will encounter within their work environment and to learn from their mistakes. A simulation can be "realistic" in terms of its physical and functional components, with the latter component related to the types of tasks, settings and situational factors included within the simulation.

Simulation allows people to experience a
variety of realistic situations
and to learn from their mistakes.

Simulation also has the power to present a wide variety of relevant situations within a compressed time period. Typically, an individual would need several days, months or even years to experience the same range of on-the-job situations as they can encounter using simulation. As a performance assessment medium, simulation technology has been shown to accurately and reliably diagnose performance strengths and weaknesses, thereby focusing training on areas of true need. A focused training approach based on skills and abilities that are critical for on-the-job success improves training effectiveness and efficiency at both the individual and organizational levels. The Assessment Tools for Teaching Proficiency provides the "focus" in focused professional development by allowing teachers and teacher candidates to perform an objective confidential self-assessment of their classroom teaching skills.

As a performance assessment medium, simulation technology has been shown to accurately and reliably diagnose performance strengths and weaknesses, thereby focusing training on areas of true need.

Simulation and System Dynamics
Simulation technology is conceptually linked to what is referred to as system dynamics. System dynamics is an approach that stresses the need to view the world around us in terms of a sequence of inputs, throughputs, and outputs. Thus, a school may be viewed as taking in students as inputs, applying educational and instructional processes as throughputs, and outputting capable individuals that can readily enter the work force and society at large. Individual systems, such as a school, can be viewed as being made up of sub-systems and, in turn is itself embedded within a more encompassing system. In this case, the classroom or the student is a sub-system within the more encompassing "school system," which in turn is embedded within the more encompassing "local community system," and so on. System dynamics can be used to describe and understand cause and effect relationships, as well as "ripple effects," such as the unintended consequences of an event or activity that are oftentimes far removed in time and space from the triggering event/activity.

In general, the system dynamics approach provides a way to describe and study our complex biological, physical and social world around us. Because it is focused on dynamic inter-relationships, it works hand-in-hand with simulation technology. Our WWW links page provides a number of simulation-related Web sites, as well as ones that provide information and instruction on systems dynamics. It is hoped that teachers, students, and others will use these links to explore the power of simulation as an effective tool for learning, regardless of the subject content being studied.

Included in these links is one for STELLA - a software program that can be used to develop models and then implement those models over time within a dynamic simulation. STELLA has been used to model such varied subjects as the free fall of an object, a pond ecosystem, cellular functioning, a brown bear population, a play by Shakespeare, and the use of simulation as a learning tool.