Curriculum Research and Development Group

Once again, SIMPOLICON© has been used by the Curriculum Research and Development Group summer school at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa. This is the fifth year in a row, 2014-2018, that SIMPOLICON© has been the core of their “Inspiring Global Leaders” class for middle and high school students. Researchers at the university attributed SIMPOLICON's© success as follows: We feel the simulation was successful for at least two reasons. First, the design of the simulation was effective in that it had a “low threshold” and a “high ceiling. (Myers, Hudson, & Pausch, 2000). These researchers have argued that effective tools have a “low threshold” if they make it easy for novices to get started….Furthermore, the simulation also had a “high ceiling” in that it allowed participants to employ increasingly sophisticated strategies. In this case, the more participants learned about leading their country in the simulation, the more they realized they could do. Furthermore, the simulation had “wide walls” in that it supported a range of explorations (Resnick et.al., 2005). …In short, the simulation’s design made the tool appropriate for a diverse group of learners.”