This document discusses simulation as a teaching strategy in education. It defines simulation as creating artificial experiences that engage learners without real-life risks. Simulations apply educational theories like social learning theory and experiential learning theory. The document also provides examples of using simulations to teach assessment skills, pharmacology concepts, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation. It notes advantages like practice in a safe setting and limitations like preparation time. Effective evaluation of simulations considers factors like understanding roles and resolving issues.

1. SIMULATION:
A TEACHING
STRATEGY
Mayumi Anthony
Cheryl Muffley

2. OVERVIEW OF SIMULATION
 Definition:
 A method of instruction whereby an artificial or
hypothetical experience that engages the learner in an
activity reflecting real-life conditions but without the
risk-taking consequences of an actual situation is created
(Bastable, 2008, p. 635).
 Description:
 Participants make decisions in a safe environment,
witness the consequences, and evaluate the effectiveness
of their actions.

3. APPLICATION OF EDUCATIONAL
THEORIES
 Social Learning Theory
 Self-efficacy or social change occurs through modeling
and reinforcement learning.
 Educator designs a simulation to teach a skill,
pattern, or role play, and then designs additional
simulations where the target behavior is reinforced.
 Simulation provides planned stimuli organized in a
way so as to give the participant opportunity to
respond.
 Experiential Learning Theory
 Educator designs simulation to match a student’s
needs and preferences for learning.
 Students are assigned to participate in a simulation
activity that matches their learning style.

4. APPLICATION OF SIMULATION TO
TEACHING SITUATIONS
 Assessment Skills
 Assessment of and early intervention for patients with acutely
deteriorating conditions
 Improved proficiency in advanced life support following
simulation training compared to clinical experience alone
(Wayne et al., 2005)
 Hospital resuscitation teams trained in advanced life support
using simulation can improve patient outcomes following
cardiac arrest (Moretti et al., 2007)
 Pharmacological concepts
 Drug recognition unit allows simulator to respond
physiologically (Rauen, 2004)
 Ex. Simulated morphine injection causes pupil size of mannequin to
change and the respiratory rate, heart rate, and blood pressure to
decrease
 Instructor can pause simulation to review assessments, detect
problems, or discuss treatment

5. APPLICATION OF SIMULATION TO
TEACHING SITUATIONS (CONT.)
 Basic and Advanced Cardiac Life Support
Techniques
 Developing and demonstrating critical thinking
skills
 Scenarios require students to use classroom
knowledge, incorporate assessment skills, and create
and implement a plan
 Students are given an opportunity to witness the
outcome and evaluate their plan and make
appropriate changes if necessary
 With the use of simulation, students can implement
the entire nursing process and are required to think
critically

6. USES OF SIMULATION:
APPROPRIATE SETTINGS
 Aviation
 Transportation
 Nuclear Power Industry
 Social and Behavioral Sciences

7. USES OF SIMULATION:
APPROPRIATE SETTINGS IN
NURSING
 Undergraduate
 Graduate
 Hospitals: Nursing Orientation

8. ADVANTAGES OF SIMULATION
 Enjoyable, motivating activity
 Element of reality is compatible with principles
of constructivism
 Enhances appreciation of the more subtle aspects
of concept/principle
 Promotes critical thinking
 Allows student to practice reality in a safe
setting

9. LIMITATIONS OF SIMULATION
 Preparation time
 Cost can be an issue
 Assessment is more complex than some
traditional teaching methods

10. WAYS TO ADAPT SIMULATION
 Time
 The arc of the activity can be adjusted.
 Content
 Some simulations offer content more appropriate to
specific ages, trainings, and professions.
 Expectations
 Not all students appreciate the subtleties of a concept
as well as others.
 Rubrics can be developed to help the educator
determine the level of success.

11. EVALUATION OF THE
EFFECTIVENESS OF SIMULATION
 Educators must monitor the process to ensure
that students both understand the process and
are benefiting from it.
 Helpful to develop rubric as a guide
 Follow up activities may be helpful to establish a
measure of comprehension.
 Some prepackaged simulations include
assessment suggestions.

12. EVALUATION OF THE
EFFECTIVENESS OF SIMULATION
(CONT.)
Does this simulation offer
an appropriate measure of
realism for my group of
students?
Are the desired
instructional
outcomes well
defined?
Is the level of ambiguity
manageable for this group?
Does the student
demonstrate an
understanding of
his/her role?
Are problem solving
techniques in
evidence?
Is cooperation between
participants in
evidence?
Has the student been able
to resolve the issue
satisfactorily?
Does the student
provide meaningful
answers to probing
questions?
Will follow-up activities be necessary?
The following are some questions that educators may ask themselves
to assess the simulation and its apparent success:

13. CONCLUSION
 Simulation is a vehicle for translating classroom
knowledge into a safe learning environment
(Leigh, 2008).
 Simulation allows learners to function in an
environment that is as close as possible to an
actual clinical situation and provides them an
opportunity to “think on their feet, not in their
seat” (Rauen, 2004).
 Simulation promotes the use of critical and
evaluative thinking.

14. CONCLUSION (CONT.)
 The main benefits of simulation can be summarized as:
 experimentation in limited time,
 reduced analytical requirements,
 easily demonstrated models.
 The main limitations are:
 simulation cannot give accurate results when the input data
are inaccurate,
 simulation cannot provide easy answers to complex questions,
 simulation cannot solve problems by itself .
 Success is usually determined by the facility and
commitment of the participants.
 Follow up activities may be helpful to establish a
measure of comprehension.

15. REFERENCES
 Bastable, S. B. (2008). Nurse as educator (3 ed.). Sudbury, Massachusetts:
Jones and Bartlett.
 Cameron, B. (2010). The Effectiveness of simulation in a hybrid and online
networking course. Tech Trends, 47 (5), Retrieved from
http://www/spingerlink.com/index/982L41375601557X.pdf
 Leigh, G. T. (2008). High-fidelity patient simulation and nursing students’
self-efficacy: A review of the literature. International Journal of Nursing
Education Scholarship, 5(1).
 Moretti, M. A., Cesar, L. M., Nusbacher, A., Kern, K. B., Timerman, S., &
Ramires, J. A. (2007). Advanced cardiac life support training improves
long-term survival from in-hospital cardiac arrest. Resuscitation, 72, 458-
465.
 Rauen, C. (2004). Simulation as a teaching strategy for nursing education
and orientation in cardiac surgery. Critical Care Nurse, 24 (3), 46 – 51.
 Saskatoon Public Schools. (2010, March 17). Instructional strategies
online. Retrieved from
http://olc.spsd.sk.ca/DE/pd/instr/strats/simul/index.html
 Wayne, D. B., Butter, J., Siddall, V. J., Fudala, M. J., Lindquist, L. A., &
Feinglass, J. (2005). Simulation-based training of internal medicine
residents in advanced cardiac life support protocols: A randomized trial.
Teaching and Learning in Medicine, 17(3), 210-216.