How and Why Learning Simulations Work

pixelfountain design and develop learning simulations, so we thought we’d share some pixelfountain expertise, which is equally applicable to adults as children, rather than our usual games-ED and education focused bloggery.  Not every subject lends itself to a simulation approach and not every learning need or outcome requires such a comprehensive method.  However, learning simulations can be extremely powerful learning tools and this blog article should help explain what learning simulations are and why they are used.

What are Learning Simulations?

First, they are different to games and models, although there is some overlap:

	Games	Learning Simulations	Models
Atmosphere:	Fun	Serious yet fun	Serious
Purpose:	Entertainment	Learning / Knowledge	Information / Knowledge
Accuracy:	Fantasy / Randomness	Real enough	As accurate as can be
Usage:	Open-ended / Flexible	Flexible	Specific
Audience:	Gamers	Learners	Technicians
Usability / User Interface:	Hard in more detailed games	Easy to use	Can be hard
Engagement	Obsessional	Engaging	Boring

Research into Learning Simulations

A 2010 meta-analysis study conducted by researchers from University of Colorado Denver Business School reported that workers trained on simulation games versus formal classroom or web based tutorials, do their jobs better with greater skill and higher retention of relevant information. Workers not only had higher attainment of declarative knowledge and procedural knowledge at 11% and 14%, but more importantly they developed self-efficacy at a significantly higher rate - 20%. This is one’s belief in their own ability and competence to perform effectively in challenging situations with the intrinsic motivation to attain the desired goal or outcome.

Where Can Learning Simulations be Used?

Learning simulations also have various features that match to learning outcomes, but the subject area has to be appropriate:

  

Subject Area	Learning Need / Outcome
Big picture: ·         The subject can be thought of in terms of PESTLE (Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal & Environmental). ·         Individuals act according to drivers.	Strategic thinking: ·         Allowing learners to understand how differing PESTLE drivers can impact on direction and requirements. ·         Allowing learners to see issues from other people’s perspective. ·         Providing learners with the skills to make more strategic decisions or understand that decisions have a strategic dimension.
Complexity - components of the system (organisation / community / environment) need to be understood in terms of their relationship to other components.	Systems thinking: ·         Allowing learners to understand and deal with complexity. ·         Allowing learners to think of the machine rather than the cogs within it. ·         Providing learners with a mental map of the system enabling them to make better networks and improve decision making.
Cause and Effect - Decisions can have impacts throughout the system. If this then that and that and that, which makes …	·         Decision making - allowing learners to think about the impact of decisions.  ·         Joined-up thinking - allowing learners to think about multiple variables rather than linear thinking - typical of traditional training. ·         Providing an implementation mind set: this is how things work, this is how I can get things done.
Authenticity (situational understanding): ·         The subject is best understood in context. ·         The conduct of individuals is best understood in context.	Situational / Behavioural Understanding: ·         Allowing learners to test hypotheses and make mistakes. ·         Allowing learners to experience pressure and develop techniques to deal with it. ·         Allowing learners to understand that their decisions and behaviours impact on others and the system. Practice makes perfect. ·         Providing learners with a robust set of skills and behaviours (collaborative mind set). ·         Providing trainers with an integrated approach (testing skills and behaviours).

What Makes Learning Simulations so Powerful?

Sitting behind a simulation is an algorithm. This is a set of equations that “model” a situation. These equations are impacted by variables that change due to decisions made by the learners. What happens in a simulation is dependent on the actions of learners and is not buffeted by the vagaries of the coin toss or a Chance Card. That is not to say that randomness has no place whatsoever in a simulation. For example, when calculating the temperature at a given moment in a climate change simulation might require a degree of randomness (say 20%), which makes the simulation feel more real; i.e. the weather is not totally predictable.

Real Enough

Whilst the simulation “models” a situation, it is not a model in the strictest sense. A learning simulation needs to be real enough to allow learners to quickly explore a situation without getting too bogged down in detail.

Ensuring the Algorithm is Real Enough:
[Italics show input form client and subject matter experts (SME)].
• Analysis & Initial Design:
   o   Scoping with client.
   o   Interviews with subject matter experts.
   o   Initial design created and is signed off.
• Detailed Design:
   o   Look and feel + user interface.
   o   Algorithm developed with input from SME.
   o   Incidents developed.
   o     Detailed design created and is signed off.
• Build:
   o    Media and interface.
   o    Incorporate algorithm.
• Testing & Tuning.
• Piloting:
   o    User group plays the simulation and provides feedback.
   o    The simulation is then tweaked.
• Train the Trainer and roll out of the programme.

We will discuss more about how to develop a learning simulation in a couple of weeks with our very own infographic.

Please follow @paulladley on Twitter, games-ED on Pinterest and like games-ED’s Facebook and Google+ pages for blog updates and interesting games based learning findings.

Part 3: What Skills Does Programming Impart?

This blog post is part of a series.  We have discussed how programming might be able to help children acquire jobs and be better suited to the 21st century ('Part 2: Learning to Program: An Easy Way to Get a Job?'), but how?  Obviously learning to program teaches children programming skills, however, it can also teach and develop much more than this:

Image courtesy of Tim McCune on Flickr.

• Systems thinking – programming requires an understanding of how various inputs, outputs, lines of code and so on affect each other.
• Logic and problem solving - it requires a great deal of logic and greatly develops problem-solving skills to work out systematically what a problem might be and how to deal with it.
• Creativity and innovation – when a problem is found, the programmer will often have to find novel ways of fixing it.  They may also try to use code in unusual ways, try to make innovative games and so on.
• Maths and science – while not a necessity, learning to programme can encourage students to learn maths in a real world setting.  Their programme may also require physics knowledge such as trajectory, gravity, speed and so on.
• Collaboration – programming is often a collaborative activity, which requires individuals to hone their team working.  For example, someone might be game designer, another may be head coder, another would be graphic artist and so on.
• Subject mastery – programming requires knowledge not only of coding but also whatever is to be programmed.  For example, a game about the water cycle would require the programmers to learn about the water cycle.  
• Media skills – most games involve some pictures and sounds.  The programmer may also have to learn how to produce and edit these.

While not a skill, as such, learning to program and the act of programming something can be extremely motivating and provide students with a sense of accomplishment and pride.  Sam Blazes, a winner of the 2012 National STEM Video Game Challenge says, “Programming is fun to me… It’s something that I can sort of do and have fun and work on, and I can feel a sort of sense of accomplishment when I start working on stuff and even finish something.”  This can allow children to learn things without necessarily knowing it.  The act of programming is an engaging project that can teach all sorts of things stealthily, in a very fun way.

The next part of the series will show you how you can get started with learning to program or teaching others to program, from apps for 4 year olds, to making lego robots move and interact with the world.  We will cover a range of products, tutorials and so on for a range of ages, price ranges and devices.

Please follow @paulladley on Twitter, games-ED on Pinterest and like games-ED’sFacebook and Google+ pages for blog updates and interesting games based learning findings.

Proof of the Pudding 3 (learning simulations vs. games based learning)

Building on two past posts (Proof of the Pudding and Proof of the Pudding Part 2) I thought I would blog about pixelfountain.

pixelfountain is the company I set up in 1995 and have been working for ever since. The company owns the brand games-ED, which has been the main focus of my blogging activities. But, I thought for a change I would inform my readers about the learning simulation activities of pixelfountain.

I have designed over a dozen learning simulations for pixelfountain. The learning simulations blend the best of traditional and interactive learning. They have been used in over 450 workshops  to successfully train more than 6,500 individuals. We have delivered learning programmes in local councils, public sector, housing associations, community & voluntary sector and the private sector. Long–term evaluation of our learning simulation approach has shown that the immediate benefits translate into changed behaviour, better decision making and improved skills, which ultimately are incorporated into organisational improvements.


Evaluation of our programmes highlight improvements in 3 areas, which translate into improved decisions and allow change to occur at an organisational and partnership level:

• Strategic Thinking – Understanding the key driver and needs. Does a particular decision help us get closer to our goal?  Learning simulations enable delegates to test strategies in a virtual community without the danger of making mistakes. They can then reflect on how their new understanding can be applied in the real world.
• Joined-up Thinking – Understanding cause and effect provides perspective, reduces the chance of perverse outcomes / duplication, and increases the likelihood of win-wins. 
• Collaborative Working – Working with stakeholder groups and partners improves decision-making by allowing organisations to benefit from the ‘wisdom of the crowd’. pixelfountain learning simulations are centred on the people. They consider how people learn, how they collaborate and how they apply new knowledge.

And, here is the interesting the thing, the learning simulations that I have designed, developed and delivered for pixelfountain are pretty much the same products as the games based learning products that we use with games-ED. If you don't believe me have a look at the games-ED Sustainaville demo and compare it to the pixelfountain product Planit-Sustainability. Okay they are not entirely identical as Sustainaville was slimmed down for the education market - not because it was deemed too hard, but because it needed to fit into educational time frames.

Actually, over the last decade we have been invited on special days to use pixelfountain learning simulations in schools, colleges and universities. They worked in education as well as with adult audiences, so we knew we weren't taking a huge risk with branding them as games-ED for the education market. In conclusion: 450 successful learning simulation workshops - that is proof of the pudding for learning simulation and our games based learning approach as well.

Finally, if they are the same product, why use to different terms: learning simulations and games based learning? Well, when we started delivering learning simulations 10 years ago, we didn't think people would turn up if we mentioned the "G" word.

The Art of Conversation

If Elvis had been singing about games based learning, he might have demanded, ”a little less action, a little more conversation”.

The history of the introduction of new mediums is littered with the belief that they kill the art of conversation. Those “halcyon” days when the family gathered around the piano and the men retired for port and conversation have “sadly” gone (as it happens, I would have worked down the pit or in the mill). It is argued that the likes of TV and more recently computer games have put another nail in the coffin of conversation, but I disagree.

New mediums can act as conversational anchors, like the fact that people can chat about Eastenders or Corrie at work the next day. Soap operas offer viewers the opportunity to put the actions and interactions of human beings into perspective, both socially and culturally (Brunsdon, 1997; Gillespie, 1995; Liebes & Katz, 1990). Games can also do this.

Even individually played games can generate conversations. “Have you seen this?” “How did you do that?” We have seen this in action: We have delivered two programmes, involving seven schools, using two different individually played games. These classes were far from quiet! And it also worth noting that “individual” games were often played by pairs of pupils, as they preferred to work this way.

Collaborative games, though, take conversations onto a different level. With our games-ED products the gameplay is structured around rounds and phases to encourage conversation. The learners talk in their teams, between teams, at a class level and with the educator. The game anchors these conversations allowing a natural set of questions (shown below) to flow during the course of the plan > do > review phases. These conversations are at the heart of the learning; they are inclusive and are not formalised / one-way. It is through these questions that learning flows. Together the class constructs their understanding, and makes tacit knowledge (emotions, experiences, insights, intuition, observations and internalised information) explicit.

Games can be action packed and so engaging, but it is their ability to anchor conversations that provides the key to their success in the classroom. They also provide a collaborative framework that suits both boys and girls, which I think would make a good starting point for my next blog.

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Brunsdon, C. (1997). Screen Tastes: soap opera to satellite dishes. London: Routledge
Gillespie, M. (1995). Television, ethnicity and cultural change. London & New York: Routledge
Liebes, T. and Katz, E. (1990). The export of meaning: cross cultural readings of Dallas. New York: Oxford University Press