Simulations challenge students to analyse information and make critical decisions to solve a business problem enabling them to experiment with ideas and apply these concepts in real-life situations, said an industry expert.

“Old pedagogical approaches have proven to be less effective in harnessing the skills like leadership, entrepreneurship and thought leadership, which the future requires,” said Prof Nitin Patwa, director of Simulations & Assistant professor, Quantitative Methods at S P Jain School of Global Management, a leader in the usage of experimental, logical and practical approaches.

“Therefore it’s high time that we should redefine education to expedite the process of new pedagogical approaches, to leverage power, enhance learning and practices. Since the past two decades, a lot of research has been going on with respect to the process and structure of programs and to expedite higher level education through critical thinking activities for workplace,” he added.

Ever increasing splendour in the practice of management and the rising complexity of global business creates demand for experts in management, Prof Patwa explained.

Organisations are looking to recruit skilled and work-ready graduates in order to snip the training phase and reduce the overall time when they could get into strategic alignment and execution capability readiness to face the business challenges.

This mismatch between requirement and availability of skilled resources has signalled management institutes to offer a rigorous learning environment to hone skills in business academia exploring experiential learning environment.

Business schools and executive learning centers are increasingly moving towards new pedagogical approach i.e. simulated learning. These experimental and modern methods are deemed cutting edge in learning methodologies to develop skills and competence at all levels of an organization. The proficiency created drives organizations to significantly improve business results.

Simulation is a decision analysis and support tool which allows one to evaluate, compare and optimize alternative designs, plans and practice.

As such, it provides a tool for explaining and decisions making for various stakeholders.

Simulations challenge students to analyze available information and make critical decisions to solve a business problem enabling them to experiment with ideas and outcomes and ultimately master the application of these concepts in real-life situations.

Simulations can be considered as the 21st century case-study approach which is played in multiple decision making rounds with a different learning scenarios each round. In addition, simulations come up with dashboard having metrics that can quantifiably and comparatively analyze and benchmark their performance against their competitors thus providing Instructors/facilitators the ability to create a world class learning environment and customize their courses.

Games, which are a form of simulation, are the natural way for humans to learn. Games provide students with an irresistible appeal to engage, to strive, to improve and to have the desire to learn. The game element in a simulation accelerate student participation rate.

“A simulation sparks a live engagement within participants wherein they play a role, read and analyze. Their decisions are compared with the response of other players as well as outcome of the simulation. Simulations generate much more energy among students than traditional lectures or case-study discussions,” said Prof Patwa.

“Simulations help in scrutinizing the impact of various decisions taken at the same time and allow students to validate their common sense relative to a particular situation.

“It enables students to integrate and accommodate what they read and to make actual decisions based on facts or data presented in the case. Simulations acts as stimulating element which provides an opportunity to explore the outcome of the inputs over time,” he noted.

Most importantly a pedagogical approach results in an expeditious feedback on decision making which is an integral component of any learning process, Prof Patwa concluded. – TradeArabia News Service