“We learn by example and by direct experience because there are
real limits to the adequacy of verbal instruction.”
~ Malcolm Gladwell, Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, 2005
Vivid, engaging simulations (games) are now “in” in the corporate training world. In fact, for many institutions, particularly the US military and the medical field, simulations are standard methods of training. A simulation is technically “a model of a system.” When a learner is asked to take a simulation (wrapped in a story) from an initial state to a goal state, it becomes a scenario. When you tune that experience until you achieve engagement, it is finally a game. Since some companies frown at allowing their employees to learn by “playing games,” we now often use the phrase “immersive learning simulations.”
Immersive learning simulations provide deep and meaningful practice for complex decisions and are a powerful way to equip learners with the tools and knowledge they need to succeed. Many learning simulations often are not done well because many are under-designed (not enough intelligent instructional design up front) and overproduced (too much focus on Flash-y graphics).
Why do well-designed games work? Because they capture and retain learners’ attention, they allow for spontaneity, creativity and fun, and they allow learners to learn by doing and through consequences of making mistakes. Games are a series of interesting and challenging decisions. A powerful active learning environment is created when you embed important decisions in a setting that makes them interesting and engaging.
When we think of games, we think of fun: Games = Fun
When we think of learning, we think of work: Learning = Work
Games show us this is wrong. In a word, games allow us to “fool” learners into learning. Under the right conditions, learning is biologically motivating and pleasurable for humans, and games can trigger deep learning.
