Effective Use of Simulations in the Classroom

This paper is the product of my early retirement program in Catalina Foothills School District. When I decided to retire after twenty-five years teaching middle school in the district, I met with the superintendent, David Ackerman, to discuss ideas for a project to fulfill my commitment of forty days work. He expressed the hope that I could do something to insure that my expertise in using classroom simulations could be captured in a form that would help future teachers continue the effective use of this teaching method. The ensuing partnership with the System Dynamics Project made this paper possible and probable. And as a result of this collaboration we were able to include computer assisted system dynamics simulations in the guide. When I first encountered simulations as a teaching tool, they were called simulation games and as such had score-keeping, winners and losers. In those days competition in the classroom was not only tolerated but fostered; it was assumed that competition was the key ingredient to student enthusiasm for this teaching method. Typically an assignment would be made that involved learning certain material (objectives) in order to play the game. In fact, the student who successfully completed the assignment first not only earne