Assessment in Simulations

Abstract

Simulations are employed widely as teaching tools in political science, yet evidence of their pedagogical effectiveness, in comparison to other methods of instruction, is mixed. The assessment of learning outcomes is often a secondary concern in simulation design, and the qualitative and quantitative methods used to evaluate outcomes are frequently based on faulty paradigms of the learning process and inappropriate indicators. Correctly incorporating assessment into simulation design requires that an instructor identify whether a simulation should produce positive changes in students' substantive knowledge, skills, and/or affective characteristics. The simulation must then be assessed in ways that accurately measure whether these goals have been achieved. Proper assessment can help demonstrate that simulations are productive tools for learning and that their popularity in the classroom is justified

Balancing the Books: Analyzing the Impact of a Federal Budget Deliberative Simulation on Student Learning and Opinion

“…This article makes a contribution to the emergent literature on assessment of simulations, an area that has until quite recently often been overlooked (Raymond and Usherwood 2013). It does so primarily with respect to the efficacy of simulations in promoting gains in students' substantive knowledge, although our research also offers insights into the impact of deliberative forums in the classroom.…”

Teaching the European Union: a Simulation of Council’s Negotiations

“…Others are more critical: they consider the traditional approach more useful and regard simulation as some sort of trivialisation of the lecturer's activity (for a discussion of the myths about simulations, see Di Camillo and Gradwell, 2013). Our position is midway between these two (Raymond and Usherwood, 2013). Simulation games can be effective if they are well-organised and if they go together with other formative opportunities.…”

Can't Get No (Dis)Satisfaction: TheStatecraftSimulation's Effect on Student Decision Making

“…In sum, the efficacy of simulations in enabling students to achieve desired learning outcomes has not been comprehensively validated, in part due to the frequent failure to properly align simulations with course learning objectives or assessment regimes (Raymond and Usherwood 2013). As Krain and Lantis (2006, 399-400) write, ''very few studies confirm our experiences (and convictions) that [simulation] exercises are truly effective methods for teaching political science and international relations'' because such exercises ''have remained generally untested in any rigorous fashion.…”