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Simulation Theory
Simulation Theory is an instructional design theory posited by American educator Charles Morgan Reigeluth who divides the design of instructional simulation into three parts: the scenario, the underlying model, and the instructional overlay. Noting a dearth of empirical design models for the many varied types of Instructional Simulation, and a lack of focus on instructional objectives, researchers Reigeluth and Schwartz (1989) focus research on developing the instructional overlay which is vital for maximally enhancing student learning and motivation. Instructional simulations are dynamic models of real-world environments or systems with which the learner interacts to achieve specified learning objectives. Via educational simulation, students are exposed to learning opportunities which can exceed those provided by other more traditional instructional methods such as direct instruction. “Simulations also enhance the transfer of learning by teaching complex tasks in an environment that approximates the real world setting in certain important ways.”

History and Theoretical Background


In the 1989 academic report “An Instructional Theory For The Design Of Computer-Based Simulations”, Reigeluth and Schwartz prescribe a general model for design of the instructional overlay. The general model, which posits the instructional stages of Introduction, Acquisition, Application and Assessment, and offers directions for controlling the system and/or learner, may be adapted depending on the nature of the behaviour to be learned (procedures, process principles or causal principles); the complexity of the content; the mode of learner participation; the type of changes being simulated (physical or non-physical), and the students’ motivational needs.

The use of Simulation in instruction is a constructivist learning model  with foundations in the theories of John Dewey (Pragmatist-Constructivist), Jean Piaget (Cognitive Constructivist) and David Kolb (Constructivist).

According to Dewey, people learn via primary and secondary experiences with primary experience being the action and secondary experience being the processing of the primary experience in response to feedback from peers and/or mentors. For Dewey the amount (or frequency) of experience was most important and was not synonymous with education since not all experiences are educational. Further, Dewey uses the phrase “continuity of experience”, noting that past experiences influence future experiences, and that the current learning environment is as important as the past experience in defining the individual’s current learning experience.

Piaget is credited with hypothesizing the concepts of assimilation and accommodation in learning. In the former, the learner interacts with the environment and the experience is integrated into existing knowledge (gained from past experience), while in the latter the knowledge gained from the new experience causes the learner to revise existing knowledge. Both processes occur simultaneously, often and ubiquitously.

Kolb’s theory of Experiential Learning builds on the work of Dewey and Piaget, stating that learning takes place via experience. According to Kolb’s model, learning occurs in four stages: Concrete Experience, Reflective Observations, Abstract Conceptualization and Active Experimentation. The process is cyclical and guided by three non-cyclical principles: Framing the Experience; Activating the Experience and Reflecting on the Experience. The similarities between the four stages of Simulation Theory and the three stages of Experiential Learning are evident in the table below. Reigeluth and Schwartz (1989), in keeping with Reigeluth’s Elaboration Theory, suggest that the most effective instructional designs arrange content by introducing simpler concepts and tasks, progressing to the more difficult and detailed. This is reminiscent of scaffolding, or the processes of shaping, chaining and fading theorized by Skinner’s Radical Behaviourism theory. Reigeluth and Schwartz identify five features which serve to achieve the stages of Introduction, Acquisition, Application and Assessment: the generality, example, practice, feedback, and help. These features correspond to four of Gagne's nine events of instruction: present the stimulus, elicit a response, provide feedback, and provide learner guidance. Regarding control, Reigeluth and Schwartz’s research identifies those controls which resulted in optimized learning and motivation. These included:

Medicine
The use of instructional simulation in the medical field has many benefits, perhaps chief amongst them patient safety. Using this instructional approach, medical personnel and students can gain realistic practice without the risk of harm to human life and at relatively low cost (considering that good health is priceless).

Education & Training
From the primary (elementary) school classroom to NASA’s Space Training Programme, instructional simulation plays an important role in education. Advantages include greater student motivation to use the technology; interaction, exploration, and/or experimentation with locations, objects, and environments that might otherwise be unavailable; the adaptability of the simulated learning experience to suit each individual learner’s needs, and real-world experiences in emotional and physical safety.

Business
Whether learning to man the cashier till, order inventory, sell items or services, or manage human resources and other internal administrative concerns, simulated instruction is of significant value to the business world, offering convenience and adaptability to training within the commercial sector.