If ‘Experience is the Best Teacher’ and simulations approximate experience, then simulations can provide an excellent opportunity for learning in the context of professional leadership development. So how does this work? When approaching the challenge of learning, it is crucial to acknowledge that there is a distinction between learning from ‘teaching’ and learning from ‘experience.’ Once we have that as a baseline of understanding, we can examine how or where learning happens in ‘experience.’

Many educators are now rethinking how virtual learning might improve the student experience by providing more flexibility than in-class options, especially for hybrid and all-virtual learning models. Colleges and universities now have the potential to progress beyond these improvised models. They can try to create more stable online learning platforms that cater to a diverse group of students who require coursework at various times and in multiple formats to fit their own goals and lifestyles.

If simulations work in the medical field, simulations could be used in every field, whether that be an advertising major learning how to pitch to prospective clients or an education student learning how to deal with building an inclusive classroom.

Even the best leaders and educators have room to improve. Part of getting aspirants on the same page with the rest of the district is simply communicating the district’s values, beliefs, and priorities throughout leadership and professional development.

Much attention was drawn to the challenge of learning loss over the last couple of years as schools and the entire country have wrestled with COVID-19 and the best ways to navigate it. It has certainly been a learning experience, an entire school of hard knocks, with lots of bumps and bruises along the way.

The learning by doing principle is a widely known principle in education that refers to learning from experiences directly relating to one’s own actions. This hands-on approach concludes that people must interact with their environment in order to adapt and learn. Philosopher, John Dewey, most notably created and implemented this idea through the creation of the University of Chicago Laboratory School.

Students are more than race, ethnicity, ability, age, sexual orientation, family structure, and class. They have layers of lived experiences that directly impact their success in life and academia. For many students, their life experiences are just as much a piece of their educational framework as their in-class experiences. Sometimes, even more so. 

Teachers have been asked to navigate what is arguably one of the most difficult times in the history of the teaching profession. Before the pandemic, the roles and responsibilities of a teacher were already no easy feat. Long hours, large classrooms, and sometimes unrealistic expectations have long-plagued this profession. Since the pandemic, however, distance learning has added to the increased feeling of frustration and anxiety.

Simulations are developed because they can effectively drive a narrative and elicit emotional responses from the audience. Their purpose is to make the participants feel linked to one another and put themselves in the other person’s shoes. Our goal is to align the hearts of educators, resulting in a greater chance for aligned decision-making in our schools, and simulations may be the key to accomplishing this.