Competency-based education in social work (CSWE, 2022) demands active learning methods that demonstrate professional competencies and practice behaviors. Role-plays and simulations are methods that link learning in the classroom with practice. This article explores role-play and simulation variants: basic role-play, real play, student-scripted…

Authenticity in simulation-based learning is linked to cognitive processes implicated in learning. However, evidence on authenticity across formats is insufficient. We compared three case-based settings and investigated the effect of discontinuity in simulation on perceived authenticity. In a quasi-experiment, we compared formats of simulation in…

Educational simulation plays facilitate real experiences in a safe environment and, therefore, are appropriate for gaining a better sense of the dynamic relationships at work in complex environments, for exploring good fits and practical solutions, and for understanding how mistakes occur, mainly when plays, built upon an explicit or implicit…

The author discusses how social scientists and psychologists in the late 1960s and early 1970s devised the board games Ghetto, Blacks & Whites, and El Barrio to teach students in college and high school about racism, racial segregation, and poverty in American society. But, he also argues, these games assumed that poor Black and Latino…

Play is essential to the healthy growth and development of children. As children play, they explore new roles, try out new ideas, and bond with each other. Play increases language, cognitive, and social skills. How can the power of play be harnessed and shaped for educational purposes? How can teachers infuse play into the classroom to improve…

Dealing with the often-overwhelming nature of the school placement experience and the associated demands of classroom management can be a significant challenge for many pre-service teachers. These challenges point to the need for pre-service teachers to experience aspects of challenging pupil behaviour in less pressurised environments and where…

To develop a simulation is to construct a new reality, one where students can safely engage with the course materials, so as to achieve the intended learning outcomes. While there are a wide range of studies that review the utility of simulations in the classroom, the construction of the alternate reality--the pseudo-reality--is a less discussed…

This paper describes environmental systems games developed for energy and water resource use designed to be adaptable from high school to undergraduate use. Two of the games are computer simulations with adjustable levels of difficulty that can be done in a computer lab or as a homework assignment. The third is a peer-to-peer roleplayer game…

The work of Crocco and her colleagues, "Deliberating Public Policy Issues with Adolescents," combines two important fields--deliberative democracy and discussion as a pedagogy--with a study of policy deliberations in three classrooms. Their article yields valuable insights. As the authors note, the results are disappointing. This may be…

Computer game play has been criticized for disrupting family life by some who claim digital fantasy play alienates individuals from everyday interactions, even as others hold that such play increases sociability among players and their families. The authors argue that the truth about game play is more complex. They draw on research using…

This essay introduces and analyzes a one-class role-play simulation during which students engage in stakeholder negotiations on how to respond to a large flow of refugees between two fictional African countries. Participants acquire an in-depth knowledge of arguments regarding granting and restricting refugees' freedom of movement and civil and…

This article describes various iterations of a Supreme Court simulation that we developed for undergraduate political science classes. We address when simulations should be used to introduce a topic to students, and when simulations should be used to develop students' understanding of a topic after introducing it. In the simulations, we played the…

Social work students are tasked with learning the meta and procedural competencies required of the profession while facing their own emotional responses to vulnerable populations and managing clients' difficult experiences. Social work educators can support students in exploring, understanding, and learning to tolerate, regulate, and manage their…

Stories can be employed in a variety of ways in college classrooms--such as in case studies, simulations, and problem-based learning (PBL) activities. Sometimes these stories are historically accurate, while in other instances they are fictional. What might be the benefits and challenges of using fictional narratives? This article draws upon data…

This review examines the Model United Nations (MUN) program at the collegiate level and provides useful information for advisors that are leading MUN for the first time.