Chapter 4: Simulations Center and Experiential Learning
The first catalyst for social change is all about engaging personal relations, improving engagement density, and creating a learning environment that builds personal relationships. The second catalyst is part of the how of education. We’re calling it experiential learning.
Picture a stereotypical high school classroom at 1:00 on a Monday afternoon. The teacher writes “Pearl Harbor and U.S. involvement in WWII” on the board. One student groans and few more laugh, but silently agree. There’s a student in the back corner with his hood pulled over his head, apparently too worn out from lunch to focus. As the teacher begins lecturing, two girls come in the door with fast food bags and vague apologies for their tardiness. A few students take notes during the lecture. When the teacher asks questions, the same couple hands go up. Trying to engage a larger percentage of the class, the teacher calls on a student who rarely participates. The student offers a half-hearted response, then says “I don’t get what this has to do with us anyway. It’s not like something that happened in Hawaii 80 years ago matters in my life.” The motivated students are shocked, the unmotivated students agree, and the teacher wonders again how all those inspirational movies about teaching America’s youth got it so wrong.
We can’t pretend to know what will motivate every student. But we have found that helping students view their education as a lived experience helps immensely.
Imagine if the same teacher covered the same material, but in the form of a simulation. When the students get to class, they are each given a title and a specific role in the 1941 U.S. government. They are told they are in Washington, D.C. and have just been informed of the bombings at Pearl Harbor. They now have to decide how to proceed, knowing that lives are at stake, the country is grieving, and threats that seemed to be an ocean away are suddenly immediate. Students have to discuss, debate, make plans, and decide what to say to the world. After several tense, emotional days in class, the students finish the simulation and come back to debrief. In the process of going over what happened, they also hear about how the U.S. government actually handled Pearl Harbor, but now they have a vested interest.
This is the power of experiential learning. Not only do students remember material far better, they have also practiced reacting to situations and creating solutions in real time. The more they practice in simulations, the more able they will be to react well and find solutions when they encounter issues in their own lives.
Experiential learning follows the concept taught in Matthew 7:20: “by their fruits ye shall know them.” Students (of all ages) will learn to observe, collect data, and suspend judgment until they see the fruits.
Experiential learning can be done at all ages, but the sooner we start the better. After all, children do this naturally. They imagine stories and solutions and then roleplay to see how things work out. Instead of suppressing that creativity by demanding cramming and memorization from them in school, we can encourage their natural invention. The more students turn their learning into lived experience, the better their epiphany rate. Epiphanies are moments of profound insight, when we discover deep truths and principles that will shape attitudes and actions. Simulations are built to spur epiphanies at a much higher rate than traditional lecture-style education.
Of course, this increased effectiveness comes at a price. Simulations are difficult to implement and emotionally draining. They require a lot of prep work and support to be effective. They can also be painful for participants, who have to get to a point of raw honesty to make the simulation work.
The Simulations Center
The John and Abigail Center will help streamline this process through the Simulations Center, an organization dedicated to creating and incorporating simulations into not only education, but every part of society. They will have the resources and expertise necessary to help groups carry out successful simulations regardless of their previous experience.
One of the most significant benefits of simulations is that they speed up the iterative cycle for personal change. Without significant epiphanies, it can take someone 6-10 years to really change their perspective. In the intense focus of a simulation, we can knock this cycle down to a few weeks. In our current climate, we desperately need to speed up this iterative cycle if we want to create meaningful social change.
The second benefit of simulations is observability. We can’t personally experience every part of human existence, but with simulations we can live vicariously through others’ experiences. Simulations are the visual tradition version of reading War and Peace. It’s not an easy experience, but as you read the book you are increasing your life experience. By the end, you have essentially lived the lives of 10-20 other people and have gained wisdom, experience and perspective. You have become something new, more capable and powerful.
The visual tradition gives us the tools to scale up the War and Peace experience. We have the technology to bring simulations and lived experiences into 3D and then spread them across the globe instantly.
3D Learning stabilizes education by creating a support network of personal relations. Experiential learning and simulations build on that stable base to allow for more experimenting and faster epiphany rates. Together, they have the power to transform our educational procedures.
Of course, there is far more to society than just education, which is just one of society’s five main functions:
- Family
- Religion
- Business
- Government
- Education
The Simulations Center will improve each of these functions through experiential learning. Families can use simulations to make decisions together, set goals, and face problems. They will grow stronger and closer together, allowing them to stabilize despite divisive influences. More stable families means more stable communities and a more stable society. Religion, business, government, and education will all benefit from the increased epiphany rates that come with experiential learning.
Next up—Chapter 5: Archive Studio and the New Visual Media
Comments, questions, suggestions? Let us know on the post.
If you’re interested in joining the mastermind group or launch team for the John and Abigail Center or any of the partner organizations, contact us.