Congruent facilitation of simulations and games

Abstract

In a review of material published in the journal Simulations and Gaming over several years, we found only about 10% of the articles addressed the issue of facilitation skills. While most authors provided information concerning specific briefing and debriefing processes, only a few provided details about the capabilities required of a person directing a simulation or game as a learning activity. Because simulations and games are complex and somewhat unconventional learning modes, it seems likely that those writing in the field are, at least partly, unaware or unconcerned about the capabilities and knowledge they themselves develop as they acquire the capacity to create the kind of learning experiences about which they write. Until events necessitated critical reanalysis of our practice, we were similarly unconcerned about our own facilitation skills. Once we began examining facilitation processes, new insights into the facilitation role emerged. These insights especially concern the way in which personal preferences appear to have a major influence on choices and behaviors when facilitating experiential learning activities. Two sets of choices emerge as particularly relevant. The first concerns choices about the type of simulation or game; the second concerns the preferred facilitation style and observable behaviors. These preferences seem to be more significant in shaping individual choices than do the goals and purposes of the learning that is the focus of the experiential activity. We first wrote about these in 1998 (Leigh and Spindler 1998) and have continued to report our explorations in subsequent papers (Leigh 2003a, 2003b; Leigh and Spindler 2004). In this chapter we briefly describe our earlier work, and extend the proposition that personal attributes and teaching and learning philosophies often have greater influence on choices and actions than requirements of specific educational outcomes. For example, given similar learning outcomes, someone who sees learning as a highly structured process requiring tight control is likely to choose a quite different approach and facilitation style to someone who regards learning as an emergent process dependent on interactions among learner, processes, and content. © 2005 Springer-Verlag Tokyo.