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Quality, reliability and safety are primary concerns in your professional world—and in ours. At SiTEL of MedStar Health, we provide a comprehensive education and training solution to those who work in healthcare. As seasoned professionals, we have many years of experience in the practice and management of medicine and healthcare, respectively. We understand how training impacts performance in hospitals.
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01
Dec
2010
2010
NRC Research Report: Games & Simulations
Posted by Todd Borghesani
The Board on Science Education at the National Research Council has just released a new report, “Learning Science: Computer Games, Simulations, and Education.”The study committee, chaired by Margaret Honey, CEO and President of the New York Hall of Science, concluded that:
- Games and simulations have potential to advance multiple science learning goals, including motivation, conceptual understanding, science process skills and understanding of the nature of science, scientific argumentation, and identification with science and science learning.
- Most studies of simulations have focused on conceptual understanding, providing promising evidence that well-designed simulations can advance this science learning goal. There is moderate evidence that they can motivate students’ interest in learning science and less evidence related to other science learning goals.
- Evidence of the effectiveness of games in supporting science learning is emerging, but remains inconclusive.
- Gaps and weaknesses in the research on games and simulations slow accumulation of evidence that might demonstrate their effectiveness and guide continued improvement.
To improve the overall quality of future research, the committee recommends:
- Researchers and developers should clearly specify the desired learning outcomes of a simulation or game and describe in detail how it is expected to advance these outcomes.
- Researchers should initially develop design and evaluation methods that focus on continual improvement.
The committee recommends targeted research to fill gaps in our understanding of:
- The role of simulations and games in advancing the full range of science learning goals;
- Transfer of learning from simulations and games to other contexts;
- Their role in increasing diverse learners’ access to high-quality science learning experiences;
- How the learning context influences their effectiveness;
- Using them to assess and support individualized learning; and
- Scaling up their use for science learning.
To build an infrastructure for sustained research and continual improvement, the committee recommends that:
- Academic researchers, commercial game developers and publishers, and educational practitioners and policymakers establish research and development partnerships to share knowledge and advance the field.
- Government agencies and foundations consider the potential benefits of providing sustained funding for such partnerships.
Read the full report
Related articles
Handbook of Research on Learning and Instruction (psypress.com)
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Hollie Adejumo
Hollie Adejumo has been a high school intern at the SiTEL Clinical Simulation Center since 2010. Her principal areas of academic interest include chemistry, calculus, and global health. She is interested in providing medical services to the public and serving as a health advocate for underrepresented populations. Hollie hopes that her research will help to reduce unnecessary deaths in the future. She will pursue a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering, which will enable her to combine her interests. Proceeding to obtain an MD/PhD will give her the ability to have autonomy in the practice of medicine. This year Ms. Adejumo will be assessing the need for orthopedic simulators, and hopes to begin designing a program for an orthopedic simulator by the end of the year. Outside of school, Hollie participates in a variety of activities. Although she has been a competitive swimmer for most of her life, she also enjoys running cross country and track.
Joyce Donnellan
As the Director of Learning Management, Joyce Donnellan brings over two decades of experience in critical care nursing education and professional development to SiTEL, Medstar’s Simulation and Training Environment Laboratory. She oversees the development and operation of SiTEL’s learning management system. Ms. Donnellan specializes in the development and integration of the learning management systems in complex and decentralized environments. She has extensive experience in education and training, including the development of curricula for both live and e-learning platforms. Ms. Donnellan enjoys collaborating with program directors, educators, and other stakeholders to develop training events and effective curricula. Her research endeavors include studying the impact of online learning on organizational behavior, as well as the integration of educational games into curriculum development. Joyce has presented nationally on e-learning topics, and on innovation in emergency preparedness training. She earned her Master’s of Science in Nursing degree from George Mason University.
Pamela Leonard
Pamela Leonard brings over 15 years of experience in critical care nursing and management to her role as the Director of the SiTEL’s Clinical Simulation Centers. Pam established the first simulation center for MedStar Health and now oversees the operations of several clinical simulation centers in the greater Washington, DC and Baltimore areas. She leads the Clinical Simulation Consulting Services at SiTEL, leveraging best practices pioneered at MedStar to integrate simulation training and education programs into healthcare operations. Pam works closely with Advanced Initiatives in Medical Simulation. AIMS is a coalition of individuals and organizations committed to promoting medical simulation as a way to improve patient safety, reduce medical errors, ensure provider competency, train people to respond to public emergencies and combat situations, and reduce health care costs.
