ABSTRACT
In the last chapter we explored the skills an instructor using simulations must develop to manage the conduct of an education simulation and discussed how they differ from the teaching skills required in a traditional classroom. Similarly, instructors must use different assessment methods to measure the extent to which students have achieved the course's learning objectives. In a traditional classroom, teachers commonly lecture; the linear communication is focused on the teacher; the students take notes; and the learning is determined by the amount and accuracy of the information transferred to the student, as measured by a content-based test. In an education simulation, teachers facilitate activities among students; communication is interactive, nonlinear, and student focused; and the measure of effectiveness is determined by the knowledge, skills, and abilities the students take away from their simulation experiences. The assessment of this learning takes place not during a terminal content-based final examination, but during the simulation debriefing (Lederman, 1984).
