Towards socio-material approaches in simulation-based education: lessons from complexity theory

Abstract

Socio-material approaches such as complexity theory are spreading through research and practice in many aspects of professional education across disciplines. Here, we argue for the transformative potential of complexity theory in medical education using simulation as our focus. Complexity tools open questions about the socio-material contradictions inherent in SBE, draw attention to important material dynamics of emergence, and suggest practical educative ways to expand and deepen student learning.

Theorising simulation in higher education: difficulty for learners as an emergent phenomenon†

“…The argument in this paper remains at a super-ordinate level, proposing the disruptive value of a sociomaterial approach as per general, shared tenets (not least, the idea of emergence), rather than being tied to specific concepts associated with particular versions of sociomaterialism. This extends a new body of work that has applied sociomaterial approaches to medical education more generally (Fenwick 2014), medical simulation (Fenwick and Abrandt Dahlgren 2015), the philosophical foundation of simulation pedagogy (Hopwood et al 2014), development of agile learners through simulation (Rooney et al 2015), and knowledge practices in scenario, observation and control spaces (Ahn et al 2015).…”

Non-technical skills learning in healthcare through simulation education: integrating the SECTORS learning model and complexity theory

“…As well as guiding the interventional design, as highlighted in table 1, the principles of SECTORS6 and Complexity Theory9 were applied to outcome measures. It was decided that an objective measure of skill and knowledge acquisition was needed and in line with these models, it would have to be based on disturbance (error) awareness and based on actual interactions, rather than theory or facts.…”

“…This programme was underpinned by the SECTORS model of learning and innovated by the employment of Complexity Theory9 as a model to support the simulation deployment. In this manuscript, how these theories shaped the pedagogical choices of the programme will be described, as well as presentation of outcomes that support the effectiveness of the simulation programme created using this innovative approach.…”

Theory and Simulation-Based Education: Definitions, Worldviews and Applications

“…Recently, self-regulatory learning (Brydges et al, 2015), semiotics (Bezemer, 2013), and threshold concepts (Land & Meyer, 2011) (Kneebone, 2009;Land & Meyer, 2011;Bearman & Nestel, 2015) have also been described. Several authors have argued for more practice-based approaches to simulation-based education (Bligh & Bleakley, 2006;Hopwood, Rooney, Boud, & Kelly, 2014;Fenwick & Dahlgren, 2015) such as sociomaterial approaches to learning. This shifts the focus of learning from individuals to the ways in which they interact with their environments and has particular importance for scenario-based simulations.…”