Are Using Simulations In The Classroom One Way To “Accelerate Learning”?

 

“Accelerating learning” is the buzzword these days in education, and I’ve written and shared a lot about it (see THE BEST RESOURCES ABOUT ACCELERATED LEARNING).

I recently read a review of the book Accelerated Expertise, which details how the U.S. military approaches the challenge.

My major takeaway from it is that the use of simulations plays a – if not the – major part in their approach to this challenge (interestingly, more teacher prep programs are also using them).

It got me thinking more about their use in the K-12 classroom.

I use them in the form of dialogues in both my ELL Newcomer classroom and with what I call “Critical Conversations” in my ELL History classes.

But, apart from those dialogues, I haven’t really tried them out much.

Of course, their can be a number of ethical challenges to using them when teaching historical and current events, which I discuss in two “Best” lists that contain a number of online simulations – The Best Online Learning Simulation Games & Interactives — Help Me Find More and The Best Places To Read & Write “Choose Your Own Adventure” Stories.

After reading that review, I’m now thinking that it might be worth trying some other kinds of simulations out in class, including some of the online ones on those “Best” lists.

I’ve also found a few interesting articles online about K-12 classroom simulations, including:

Role-play Scenarios for ESL: Discussing Different Topics and Situations, Even Vaccination!

SIMULATION AS A TEACHING STRATEGY

Here are some simulations about Ancient Greece.

What has been your experience with using simulations in class, and do you have any recommendations for additional resources?