Description
Simulations have long been considered to be a highly effective tool for teaching. As an interactive and experiential learning experience they can engage students in topics but also lead them into new ways to critically analyse readings or evaluate analysis that they develop. However, a central challenge is ensuring a balance between students being 'immersed' in the activity and empowered to take decisions and enact innovative ideas at the same time ensuring they do not 'learn the wrong things'. As a learning experience with profound resonance for the players the former is seen as essential whereas the latter can be a disaster.
This paper considers the role of immersion in validating a learning experience but also as a risk that students go off track with the intended learning outcomes or even the contents of the module.
The paper starts from a discussion of what is meant by immersion, the relationship it has to an effective simulation, and then outlines a range of options that can be used to offer guardrails in a classroom.
