ERIC OAKLEYDepartment of HistoryUNC Greensboro

Duke TIP (Talent Identification Program) Duke University

PhD, UNCG (ABD, 2014)MA, UNCG (2009)MA, Duke University (2006)

email: eooakley@uncg.edu

BRINGING THE “BIG IDEA” ALIVESimulation Across the Curriculum

WHAT IS A “SIMULATION”?an immersive learning environment that models

the problems and complexity of the real world

“Insurrection: the American Revolution” (Duke TIP, 2013)Content Module 2: The Continental Association, September 1774

Transferrable Skills: Quantitative Assessment, Strategic Foresight, Negotiation, Oral Presentation

HOW DOES THE SIMULATION WORK?simulations emphasize student learning in a

dynamic, interdisciplinary setting that prioritizes problem-solving

Activates high levels (IV-VI) of Bloom’s Taxonomy

Accommodates a variety of student learning preferences

Applies across the curriculum to illustrate “Big Ideas”

Highlights and provides proof of concepts

Emphasizes transferrable skills

WHO DOES THE SIMULATION INVOLVE?simulations involve students, teachers, and

sometimes visitors*CLASSROO

MROLE

SIMULATION

ROLEACTION OUTPUT

STUDENTS agents protagonists problem solving

workproduct

TEACHER facilitator moderator content expertise assessment

VISITOR(S)*

gamechanger

agonist or antagonist context

second opinion

assessment

*visitors transform the closed-set classroom into an open-set environment

INSURRECTION: THE AMERICAN REVOLUTIONAmerican One (social studies) activity sequence

“Insurrection: the American Revolution (Duke TIP, 2012-13)Episode 7: “1779: Never Spare Man, Woman, or Child”

Transferrable Skills: Persuasive Communication, Debate, Collaboration, Strategic Planning

Short (5-Episode) Sequence Medium (10-Episode) Sequence

1. Continental Association (1774) 1. President of Congress (1774)

2. Declaring Independence (1776) 2. Continental Association (1774)

3. Confederation (1777) 3. Appeal to Heaven! (1775)

4. Iroquoia (1779) 4. Declaring Independence (1776)

5. Conference at Paris (1783) 5. Vermont (1777)

6. Confederation (1777)

7. Valley Forge (1778-79)

8. Iroquoia (1779)

9. Hornet’s Nest (1780-81)

10. Conference at Paris (1783)

INSURRECTION: THE AMERICAN REVOLUTIONAmerican 1 (Social Studies) Activity Sequence

Simulation(narrative context)

“Text”

Problem-Solving(learning context)

Revolutionary War(policy implementation, events,

repercussions)

Dunmore’s ProclamationDeclaration of Independence (Draft)The Unknown American Revolution

Continental Congress(debate, vote,

policy implementation)

KISS (“KEEP IT SERIOUS & STRATEGIC”)effective simulations should be rooted in “text” and

“context”

Benjamin FranklinNon-Player Character Sheet

(Vitals, Attributes, and Philosophies)

Thomas Jefferson,Declaration of Independence(Primary Source Document)

Simulation Map: New England & Canadian

Theaters

Simulation(narrative context)“Text”Problem-Solving

(learning context)

INSURRECTION: THE AMERICAN REVOLUTIONsimulation tools: characters and colonies, sources, map

PLAYER CHARACTERS: THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS

%

Elbridge GerrySamuel Adams*Nathaniel Folsom

Philip Schuyler Caesar Rodney Samuel Chase

Benjamin HarrisonRichard Henry Lee* Joseph Hewes Edward Rutledge*

Stephen Hopkins Roger Sherman*

John Witherspoon John Dickinson*

Lyman Hall

EPISODE TWO: DECLARING INDEPENDENCEcentral question: “liberty for whom?”

1. Student Preparation (Homework)• Read Sources• Character Reflection (Character Sheet)• Colony Reflection (Map & Statistics)

2. Continental Congress (Classroom)• News from Virginia (Dice Roll)• Jefferson’s Draft• Debate: Founding Principles?• Debate: Slavery?

3. Tavern (Classroom Visitor)• Q&A with Jefferson (Visitor)• Mingling (Delegates)

4. Consequences (Classroom)• Congress Votes (Delegates)• Map Movements (Action)

ASSESSING THE SIMULATIONthree categories: analytical, strategy, & role play

1. Analytical (Intellectual Growth)• Application of Sources• Argumentation• “Big Ideas”

2. Strategy (Social Growth)• Interpersonal Communication• Advance Planning• “Negotiation”

3. Role Play (Emotional Growth)• Struggling with Constraints• Interpreting Motives• “Empathy”

Colony Sheet: North Carolina

VARIETIES OF SIMULATION“Awakening Giants: China and India” (Social Studies)

“Awakening Giants: China and India” Primary Source Reader, Eric Oakley, editor

Wanli (1563-1620)Emperor of the Ming Dynasty

VARIETIES OF SIMULATION“Awakening Giants: China and India” (Social Studies)

“Awakening Giants: China and India” (Duke TIP, 2010-11)Module 2: “Ten Thousand Calendars: the Ming Dynasty”

Transferrable Skills: Strategic Choice, Collaboration, Thesis and Argumentation

REDmilitary

BLUElegitimacyYELLOW

goldGREEN

grain

USING JENGA TO MODEL THE MING DYNASTY

VARIETIES OF SIMULATION“Beyond the Beagle” (Science)

Adaptive Radiation in Galapagos Finches Survival of the Fittest

Observations and Conclusions of Charles Darwin (HMS Beagle, 1831-36)On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation

of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life (1859)

VARIETIES OF SIMULATION“Beyond the Beagle” (Science)

“Beyond the Beagle: Adaptation in North America” (Under Contract, 2014)Module 5: The Mammalian Revolution

Transferrable Skills: Calculating and Comparing, Hypothesizing, Risk-Reward Assessment

LlamaLama glama

ArmadilloDasypus

novemcinctus

Polar BearUrsus

maritimus

VARIETIES OF SIMULATION“Metric of a Revolution” (Mathematics)

Baseline Survey of the Meridian Arc (Revolutionary France, 1792-98)Surveyed by Two Teams (Pierre Méchain & Jean-Baptiste Delambre)

Baseline Segment: Dunkerque-Orléans Vicinity of Puy de la Stella

VARIETIES OF SIMULATION“Metric of a Revolution” (Mathematics)

“Metric of a Revolution” (Under Contract, 2014)Module 3: Thinking on Axis

Transferrable Skills: Quantitative Assessment, Spatial Reasoning, Contextual Analysis

VARIETIES OF SIMULATION“SPIN!: A Study in Politics and Language” (Language Arts)

Political map of the State of Franklin (admitted December 6, 1865)20 counties, each with individual demographic, economic, and cultural properties

VARIETIES OF SIMULATION“SPIN!: A Study in Politics and Language” (Language Arts)

“SPIN! A Study in Politics and Language” (Duke TIP collaboration with Nick Otten, 2014)Module 2: Communicating the “Issues” in the Counties

Transferrable Skills: Quantitative & Qualitative Assessment, Collaboration, Persuasive Communication

Julia Armstrong HiroGubernatorial Candidate

E (Exposition) Party“Facts Not Fiction”

Hunter Fox GroverGubernatorial Candidate

M (Metaphor) Party“We Stand For You”

KISS (“KEEP IT SERIOUS & STRATEGIC”)effective simulations should be rooted in “text” and

“context”

SIMULATION(narrative context)

“TEXT”

PROBLEM-SOLVING(learning context)

State Election(polling the public, reception,

repercussions)

CountiesCandidates

Random Events

Persuasive Language(research, writing, honing messages, presentation)

SO WHAT? EDUCATIONAL OUTCOMESsimulations provide students with opportunities for

intellectual, social, and emotional growth

“Crimson Star” Counter-Terrorism Simulation (Duke TIP, 2012)Module 3: Identify the Standard Bearer and Capture the Crimson Star Flag

Transferrable Skills: Logical Reasoning, Strategic Foresight, Creativity, Team Collaboration

RISK REWARD

INTELLECTUALfear of not knowing or

being wrong

theorizing, assessing, discovering

SOCIALfear of

speaking or group work

interpreting a role, position of

expertise

EMOTIONALfear of non-

acceptance or powerlessness

validation, empathy, agency