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Simulation: As an Experiential Learning

Method for pre-school children

Moumita Biswas
Lecturer in special education
NIEPID RC KOLKATA

Introduction
• Estimated 40 million children in the age group- four-sixteen years with
physical and mental disabilities are being excluded from mainstream
education in India. The overwhelming majority of them are vagabonds not
out of volition but because of callous school managements and over-
anxious parents of abled children in a travesty of humanity and social
justice.
• The Article 41 of the Directive Principles of the Indian Constitution
supports the right to work, education and public assistance in certain cases
including disablement.
• Further, Article 45 commits to the provision of free and compulsory
education for all children up to the age of 14 years. Based on this, the
Constitution (86th Amendment) Act 2002 has been enacted by the
parliament making education a fundamental right of all children in the age
group of 6-14 years.
• Article 21,A RTE 2009, free and quality education is a fundamental right of
all children aged 6-14 yrs.
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POLICIES…..
• The National Policy on Education, 1986 (NPE, 1986), and the
Programme of Action (1992) stresses the need for integrating
children with special needs with other groups.
• The Government launched the Integrated Education for Disabled
Children (IEDC) scheme in December 1974. Project integrated
education for disabled,1987, education for all 1990
• RCI act, 1992, Salamanca conference 1994, PWD act, 1995, NTA
1999, SSA- 2000 and ZERO REJECTION POLICY, BMF 2002,
NCF 2005, NPPD 2006, IEDSS 2009-10, SSM 2012, RPWD
2016, MDG 2000 - Achieve universal primary education., SDG
2015 - GOAL 4: Quality Education
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What do u think???? Classrooms for diversified learners

• Differences are expected, respected, & celebrated
• Fairness redefined –
• Equity instead of equality

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What is diversity?
• Diversity is differences in racial and ethnic, socioeconomic,
geographic, and academic/professional backgrounds. People with
different opinions, backgrounds (degrees and social experience),
religious beliefs, political beliefs, sexual orientations, heritage, and life
experience.

• Diversity can be conceptualized in different ways depending on the

context. When it comes to our classrooms, we conceptualize diversity
as understanding each student brings unique experiences, strengths,
and ideas to our classroom. These differences can be along dimensions
of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, socio-economic status,
age, ability, religious or political beliefs, or other different ideologies.
Diversity is the exploration and incorporation of these differences to
enrich learning and in our classrooms.
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Types of diversified learners in a classroom… Learning Styles – EYES

• Differing intelligence
• Differing in learning styles
• Hidden or invisible disabilities
• • Learning disabilities
• • Attention deficit
• • Behavior disorders
• • Mild cognitive disabilities
• • Asperger’s syndrome
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• Sensory & physical • Visual learners take in information by seeing it, reading it, and usually give answers best by
writing.
• disabilities (often visible)
• Positive: school is made for you!!
• – Blind (Partial)
• Prefer to see information in pictures, diagrams, cartoons, demonstrations
• – Deaf (partial)
• Read the words on the board
• – Cerebral palsy
• Read the chapter
• Religious & cultural
• Write an essay
• Gender
• Do not interrupt or talk to your neighbor in class.
• Ethnicity
• Benefit from using charts, maps, notes, and flash cards when studying
• Socioeconomic
• Negetive:
• differences
• Easily distracted in lecture with no visual aids
• Second language learners
• Overwhelmed with intense visuals accompanied by lecture
• Other differences • Get stressed with long lecture hours or with abstract concepts.
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Learning Styles - EARS Learning Styles - Kinesthetic

• Kinesthetic learners take in material best when touch, texture, and movement
is presented. They give answers best when a variety of modes are allowed
• Auditory learners receive such as art, design, presentation, discussion, and acting.
information best by hearing and
give answers best verbally. • Positives:
• Positives: • Creative, global thinking, ‘out of the box’ solutions to problems.
• Excellent in class discussions • Prefer touch as their primary mode for taking in information
• Enjoy talking in general • In traditional lecture situations, they should write out important facts
• Remember information from lectures
and discussions • Role-playing can help them learn and remember important ideas
• Think and talk simultaneously

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Learning Styles - EARS Learning Styles - Kinesthetic

• Negatives: • Negatives:
• Speak without thinking first • One-style, visual or auditory, can be missed
• Easily interested by neighbors, noise • Too many details can cause “brain-freeze”
• Can be overwhelmed by large reading and writing assignments. • Tend to be moving, active, fidgety in class
• Tend to skip instructions on tests, miss details in multiple choice • Tend to have reading difficulties, dyslexia
questions
• Tend to feel “dumb” for missing details despite having great creativity
• Tend to “read aloud” (subvocalize) in order to process information and often high intelligence.
through ears
• Require more teaching modalities for success

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“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to

change the world”.
-- Nelson Mandela, 1918-2013, South African President,
philanthropist

CONCEPTUAL FOUNDATION—EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING

THEORY AND INDIVIDUAL LEARNING STYLES The Four Stage Learning Cycle
• Experiential learning theory (ELT) draws on the work of prominent
• Kolb proposed that an individual learner moves through a spiral of
twentieth century scholars who gave experience a central role in their
immediate experience which leads to observations and reflections on
theories of human learning and development-notably John Dewey, Kurt
the experience.
Lewin, Jean Piaget, William James, Carl Jung, Paulo Freire, Carl Rogers,
• These reflections are then absorbed and linked with previous
and others-to develop a holistic model of the experiential learning
knowledge and translated into abstract concepts or theories, which
process and a multi-linear model of adult development. The theory,
result in new ways and actions to adjust to the experience that can be
described in detail in Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of
tested and explored.
Learning and Development (Kolb 1984), is built on six propositions.

The Four Stage Learning Cycle

4

Concrete Experience (CE)
• This stage of the learning cycle emphasizes personal
involvement with people in everyday situations.
• • In this stage, the learner would tend to rely more on
feelings than on a systematic approach to problems and
situations.
• • In a learning situation, the learner relies on the ability to
be open-minded and adaptable to change.
• • For example, a student performs an initial interview for the
first time.
Reflective Observation (RO)
• In this stage of the learning cycle, people understand ideas and
situations from different points of view.
• • In a learning situation the learner would rely on patience,
objectivity, and careful judgment but would not necessarily take any
action.
• • The learner would rely on their own thoughts and feelings in
forming opinions.
• • In the example, after finishing the student reflects on what they did,
makes observations and discusses how they went with their educator.
Abstract Conc
Abstract Conceptualization (AC)
• In this stage, learning involves using theories, logic and ideas,
rather than feelings, to understand problems or situations.
• • Typically, the learner relies on systematic planning and
develops theories and ideas to solve problems.
• • In the example, the student then thinks about the interview
process and their performance and tries to make links between
previous experience of interviewing, the client and what they
heard, and any theories or knowledge they can apply.
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Active Experimentation (AE)
• Learning in this stage takes an active form - experimenting
with changing situations.
• • The learner would take a practical approach and be
concerned with what really works, as opposed to simply
watching a situation.
• • In the example, the student considers ways to improve,
and tries out methods and strategies based on the previous
stages of the cycle.
Simulation- meaning…
• Simulation refers to the imitation of real-world activities and
processes in a safe environment. Simulations aim to provide an
experience as close to the ‘real thing’ as possible; however,
a simulated activity has the advantage of allowing learners to
‘reset’ the scenario and try alternative strategies and
approaches. This allows learners to develop experience
of specific situations by applying their wider learning
and knowledge.
• The approach is frequently used in disciplines where students
need to develop skills and experience but safety issues or cost
considerations prevent this happening in the real-world.
Continued…
• Simulations are instructional scenarios where the learner is
placed in a “world” defined by the teacher. They represent a
reality within which students interact. The teacher controls the
parameters of this “world” and uses it to achieve the desired
instructional results. Students experience the reality of the
scenario and gather meaning from it. A simulation is a form of
experiential learning. It is a strategy that fits well with the
principles of constructivist learning and teaching.
• Simulations take a number of forms. They may contain elements
of:
• a game
• a role-play, or
• an activity that acts as a metaphor.
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Simulation-based Learning: Definition

Disadvantages of Simulation Method
• Simulation-based learning is a form of experiential learning where learners
are tasked to solve complex problems in controlled environments through
replicated "real-life scenarios" (Lateef, 2010). Simulation-based experiential
learning allows learners to absorb knowledge and practice skills in a • Time consuming
realistic but simulated, safe environment.
• Simulation-based learning can be used across disciplines and topics for • Expensive
multiple purposes, including 1) to generate awareness of implicit or hard-
to-surface issues, 2) to improve skills by providing practice in a context, • Environment is not well designed
perhaps repetitively, and 3) to test differences across a variety of
stakeholders (White et al., 2004). More specifically, simulation-based
learning is used for emergency preparedness, complex decision making, • Simulation is not always able to completely re-create real-
negotiation and conflict resolution, technical training (e.g., aviation) (Lateef,
2010) and for teaching abstract concepts that may be difficult for learners life situations .So not every situation can be included.
to fully grasp (Shaw & Switky, 2018).

Simulation-based experiential learning advantages

• • provides participants with an opportunity for learners to absorb
knowledge and practice skills in a realistic but simulated environment
(Lateef, 2010);
• • offers participants "real-world" and hands-on experience in a safe • Simulation-based learning is not meant to replace traditional
environment where learners feel comfortable practising without
experiencing the fear of making mistakes (Lateef, 2010); teaching methods. It is rather complementary to the
• • promotes student interaction and collaboration — in exercises where
students are expected to work in groups (Shaw and Switky, 2018); conventional teaching methods as an effective way of
• • helps learners engage with the content and learn effectively, (Shaw and
Switky, 2018); learning through experience by immersing learners in
• • increases knowledge retention (Levin-Banchik L., 2018); replicated "real-life scenarios" with guided reflections (Shaw
• Simulation can improve trainees’ skills and allow them to learn from
error. Learners are able to gain a greater understanding about the and Switky, 2018).
consequences of their actions and the need to reduce any errors.

• helps learners improve effective communication, teamwork,

collaboration, decision-making, and problem-solving (Lateef, 2010);
• • can be fun and exciting for learners (Shaw and Switky, 2018).
• Promote better relations between the student and the teacher
• Foster an exciting, energetic and engaged teaching environment
• Students in a class that used simulations learned a set of
concepts in less time
• Promote the use of critical and evaluative thinking
• Simulation provide a safe artificial environment within which
learners with low self-esteem may feel more inclined to explore,
investigate and express themselves. Simulated learning can be
set up at appropriate times and locations, and repeated as often
as necessary.
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Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI)

• A self-learning technique, usually offline/online, involving interaction
of the student with programmed instructional materials.
• Computer-assisted instruction (CAI) is an interactive instructional
technique whereby a computer is used to present the instructional
material and monitor the learning that takes place.
• CAI uses a combination of text, graphics, sound and video in
enhancing the learning process. The computer has many purposes
in the classroom, and it can be utilized to help a student in all areas
of the curriculum.
• CAI refers to the use of the computer as a tool to facilitate and
improve instruction. CAI programs use tutorials, drill and practice,
simulation, and problem solving approaches to present topics, and
they test the student's understanding.
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Types of Computer Assisted Instruction

• 1. Drill-and-practice Drill and practice provide opportunities or students to
repeatedly practice the skills that have previously been presented and that
further practice is necessary for mastery.
• 2. Tutorial Tutorial activity includes both the presentation of information
and its extension into different forms of work, including drill and practice,
games and simulation.
• 3. Games Game software often creates a contest to achieve the highest
score and either beat others or beat the computer.
• 4. Simulation Simulation software can provide an approximation of reality
that does not require the expense of real life or its risks.
• 5. Discovery Discovery approach provides a large database of
information specific to a course or content area and challenges the learner
to analyze, compare, infer and evaluate based on their explorations of the
data.
• 6. Problem Solving This approach helps children develop specific
problem solving skills and strategies.

Simulation in computer assisted instruction

Computer-based instructional simulations may be defined as the controlled
representation of real world phenomena. These instructional methods are
used when real world experiences are either unavailable or undesirable.
According to Hinton (1978) “A simulation package is based on a known
model of physical phenomena. The model, usually in the form of a
mathematical relationship, can be set up within a computer program and
the student can simulate the phenomena or process by controlling and
observing the output”. Computer-based instructional simulation is among
the most powerful educational delivery method because computer-based
instructional simulations provide situated, authentic form of practice,
feedback about performances, depictions of how a device or system works
and motivation for learning while avoiding physical danger and constraints.
In addition, simulations can use strategies effective for supporting student
learning about the task.