Considers nature of learning; significance of promoting learning rather than teaching; active nature of learning from experience; role of simulations and games in promoting learning; process of debriefing and its relationship to reflection; and teacher role. The Learning System, which relates general systems theory to process of learning, is…

Considers nature of debriefing, its central importance in experience-based learning, and its relationship to briefing, as well as debriefing's purposes, their relationship to different types of knowledge being processed, and various ways to organize the process. Suggestions to make the debriefing experience more effective are presented. (MBR)

Discussion of the impact of simulation games on learning focuses on a study of a college history course that compared game results with historical facts. A content analysis of the comparisons is presented, models of learning acquisition are discussed, and the learning stages that occur in a simulation game are described. (three references) (LRW)