Simulation is a pedagogical method where students learn via the recreation of a real-word situation and the students’ role is to explore key elements of that situation (Usherwood 2015). This helps students to gain a deeper understanding of institutions, processes and human behaviour. Students can experience similar constraints and motivations that real actors have and this mirroring of real-life situations excites students and improves their engagement (Boyer and Smith 2015: 315-316).

Reference

Boyer, M.A. and Smith, E.T. (2015) ‘Developing your own in-class simulations: design advice and a ‘commons’ simulation example’, in J.T. Ishiyama, W.J. Miller and E. Simon (eds.) Handbook on teaching and learning in political science and international relations, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing, pp. 315–326.