Games and Simulations and Their Relationships to Learning

Educational games and simulations are experiential exercises that transport learners to another world. There they apply their knowledge, skills, and strategies in the execution of their assigned roles. For example, children may search for vocabulary cues to capture a wicked wizard (game), or engineers may diagnose the problems in a malfunctioning steam plant (simulation). The use of games and simulations for educational purposes may be traced to the use of war games in the 1600s. The purpose was to improve the strategic planning of armies and navies. Since the 1800s, they have served as a component in the military planning of major world powers. In the 1950s, political–military simulations of crises, within the context of the Cold War, became a staple at the Pentagon. The first exercises involved a scenario of a local or regional event that represented a threat to international relations. Included were a Polish nationalist uprising similar to the 1956 Hungarian revolt, the emergence of a pro-Castro government in Venezuela, insurgency in India, and Chinese penetration into Burma (Allen, 1987). Each simulation began with a scenario, and the exercise unfolded as teams representing different governments acted and reacted to the situation. Since the late 1950s, the use of simulations has become a staple of both business and medical education, and games and simulations are found in language and science education and corporate training. Further, designers have specified both the intellectual processes and the artifacts and dynamics that define games and simulations (see Gredler, 1992; Jones, 1982, 1987; McGuire, Solomon, & Bashook, 1975). Briefly, games are competitive exercises in which the objective is to win and players must apply subject matter or other relevant knowledge in an effort to advance in the exercise and win. An example is the computer game Mineshaft, in which students apply their knowledge of fractions in competing with other players to retrieve a miner’s ax. Simulations, in contrast, are open-ended evolving situations with many interacting variables. The goal for all participants is to each take a particular role, address the issues, threats, or problems that arise in the situation, and experience the effects of their decisions. The situation can take different directions, depending on the actions and reactions of the participants. That is, a simulation is an evolving case study of a particular social or physical reality in which the participants take on bona fide roles with well-defined responsibilities and constraints. An example in zoology is Tidepools, in which students, taking the role of researcher, predict the responses of real tidepool animals to low oxygen in a low-tide period. Another is Turbinia, in which students diagnose the problems in an oil-fired marine plant. Other examples include diagnosing and treating a comatose patient and managing the shortand long-term economic fortunes of a business or financial institution for several business quarters. Important characteristics of simulations are as follows: (a) an adequate model of the complex real-world situation with which the student interacts (referred to as fidelity or validity), (b) a defined role for each participant, with responsibilities and constraints, (c) a data-rich environment that permits students to execute a range of strategies, from targeted to “shotgun” decision making, and (d) feedback for participant actions in the form of changes in the problem or situation. Examples of high-fidelity simulations are pilot and astronaut trainers. In the 1980s, the increasing capabilities of computer technology contributed to the development of a variety of