Presents a classroom simulation in which one firm pollutes the water used by another. Includes a detailed outline and discussion of the preparations and materials required, and the procedure for running the simulation. Argues that students learn how property rights provide a market solution to pollution costs. (DSK)

This article describes a study into the role of heuristic support in facilitating discovery learning through simulation-based learning. The study compares the use of two such learning environments in the physics domain of collisions. In one learning environment (implicit heuristics) heuristics are only used to provide the learner with guidance…

This article addresses misconceptions related to what makes an unfair game fair and describes from a personal perspective the process of discovering for oneself when a particular mathematical method works. (Contains 3 figures and 2 tables.)

This article describes how researchers work with military to create the next generation of training technology. This article also describes the features of Flatworld, a virtual military training technology. Flatworld is one of many projects under development at the Institute for Creative Technologies, a research group that is supported primarily…

In this article, the author describes how the study of past and present prisoner of war (POW) situations can provide an excellent academic opportunity for students to evaluate virtues and values in the short and long run. Using case studies of past and present POW situations, students can categorize and analyze the historical nature of the…

For many students macroeconomics is very abstract; it is difficult for them to imagine that the theories are fundamentally about the coordination of human decisions. The author developed a simulation game called Steer the Economy that creates the possibility for students to make the decisions of the firms that are implicit in macroeconomic models.…

In this study, we explore an alternate mode for teaching and learning the dynamic, three-dimensional (3D) relationships that are central to understanding astronomical concepts. To this end, we implemented an innovative undergraduate course in which we used inexpensive computer modeling tools. As the second of a two-paper series, this report…

The authors describe instructional methods used to teach comprehensive and individualized case conceptualization and treatment planning in a graduate-level Advanced Counseling Procedures course. Students participate in a theory-driven, simulated multidisciplinary treatment team and meet with recruited client actors to bring "to life" the…

Business simulations provide a teaching method that typically yields (1) more hands-on experience, (2) a higher level of excitement, (3) a higher noise level (and yet a lower incidence of problems), and (4) more commitment than traditional methods of teaching (McLure 1997, 3). Business simulations are experiential learning opportunities that have…

This article explores the uses of a simulation model (the two bucket story)--implemented by a stand-alone computer program, or an Excel workbook (both on the web)--that can be used for deriving bootstrap confidence intervals, and simulating various probability distributions. The strengths of the model are its generality, the fact that it provides…

Anatomy curriculum has changed dramatically around the world since the 1960s. These changes include the reduction of course hours, the abandonment of cadaver dissection, the use of problem-based learning, application of other teaching modalities such as prosected specimens, models, radiographic images, computer simulations, and the introduction of…

In this article, the authors describe an e-mail-based simulation that helps students experience the fast-paced, complex world of the middle manager. In this electronic in-basket exercise, students assume the role of a district manager in a doughnut company as they respond to a rapid series of high- and low-priority e-mails ostensibly sent from…

Using task-based exercises that required web searches and online activities, this course introduced non-traditional students to the sights and sounds of the German culture and language and simultaneously to computer technology. Through partner work that required negotiation of the net as well as of the language, these adult beginning German…

This study investigates use of computer simulation for teaching ATM use to adults with intellectual disabilities. ATM-SIM is a computer-based trainer used for teaching individuals with intellectual disabilities how to use an automated teller machine (ATM) to access their personal bank accounts. In the pilot evaluation, a prototype system was…

This study infused computer modeling and simulation tools in a 1-semester undergraduate elementary science methods course to advance preservice teachers' understandings of computer software use in science teaching and to help them learn important aspects of pedagogy and epistemology. Preservice teachers used computer modeling and simulation tools…