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This article synthesizes research to help teachers grasp simulations’ affordances and challenges and to plan and implement them effectively, including curricular implications and classroom support for diverse learners.",{"@graph":14,"@context":72},[15,34,55],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & Report",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/what-every-social-studies-teacher-should-know-about-simulations-abstract-and-theorypractice/597774/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/what-every-social-studies-teacher-should-know-about-simulations-abstract-and-theorypractice/597774.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"SANS","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-30","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":33},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",{"@type":56,"mainEntity":57},"FAQPage",[58,64,68],{"name":59,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":61},"Why do simulations remain confusing for social studies teachers?","Question",{"text":62,"@type":63},"Teachers often assume the same meaning when they use the term “simulation,” but they receive different definitions such as role-play, game, model, re-enactment, play, or demonstration. This leads to inconsistent understanding and difficulty discussing appropriate uses in classrooms.","Answer",{"name":65,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":66},"What does recent research suggest about simulations and student learning?",{"text":67,"@type":63},"Although early research was unfavorable, more recent findings reveal new and interesting results across different domains of student learning. The article frames this renewed evidence as a reason teachers should access and apply research insights.",{"name":69,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":70},"How does the article propose teachers should use simulation research in practice?",{"text":71,"@type":63},"It outlines five critical areas, including what simulations are, their affordances and challenges, and implications for curricular planning and classroom implementation. 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Although the findings of early research were unfavorable to simulations in terms of student learning, recent research has revealed new and interesting findings related to different domains of student learning that earlier research did not. In light of these conceptual and practical findings, it is important that teachers be granted access to the growth of knowledge in this burgeoning area of inquiry. To date, few scholars have disseminated to teachers the findings of existing research about simulations as it pertains to student learning, and to practitioners’planning and practice. In this article, I provide an account of research on simulation that will be helpful to teachers. The paper includes five critical areas that seek to help teachers better understand what simulations are, their affordances and challenges, as well as suggestions relating to the implications for teachers’curricular planning and implementation of simulationsin their classrooms.  \nIntroduction  \nSimulations and other related activities have seen a surge of interest in recent years. Researchers are finding new and innovative ways to explore how teachers are using simulationsand what students are learning from their participation in simulations in their social studies classes. Recent research in the United States reveals that simulations and role-plays are commonly used by a majority of social studies teachers, and that those teachers who used simulations and role-plays were significantly more likely to value critical thinking over content acquisition than their peers who rarely or never used these activities (Stephens, Feinberg, & Zack, 2013). Further, teachers’use of simulations and role-plays were positively related to an emphasis on democratic skills (Stephens, Feinberg, & Zack, 2013) . What is compelling about their findings is that the use of simulations parallels two critical components of 21st century skills—critical thinking and democratic skills—that have become central to the focus of educational innovation in recent years (e.g., Bellanca & Brandt, 2010; Trilling & Fadel, 2009) .  \nStill, simulations remain a bit of a mystery to us. As a profession we are only just starting to uncover their potential, and in many cases their use remains a gimmick rather than a vehicle of deep student learning (Dack, van Hover, & Hicks, in press) . At the same time, while there is a lot of learning ahead for the field, there have been some interesting and important findings that maybe useful for teachers in terms of their thinking, planning, and practice with simulations. In this paper I propose to offer a brief guide to thinking about how the theory and research on simulations can help us to develop more robust uses for these tools in social studies classrooms. In the first two sections, I emphasize two key facets of theory and research with simulations meant to support our understanding of these tools and what may be the most appropriate uses for them in the social studies classroom. In the last three sections, I outline three facets of practice  \nWright-Maley, 2015 Canadian Social Studies, Volume 48, No. 1  \nthat may help teachers to implement and run simulations more effectively: the importance of weaving simulations and other forms of teaching together; the role of control in simulations; and how to prepare and support diverse students to successfully navigate simulations.  \nA Theory of Social Simulations  \nWhy we need a theory of simulations, or what counts as a simulation?  \nSimulations are not new to the social studies, so as teachers we are familiar with the idea, but that familiarity has led to a lo","cbCaiaPStlOwzsWq","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiaPStlOwzsWq","pdf",228519,16,"English","# Introduction\n## Simulations, role-plays, and 21st century skills\n# A Theory of Social Simulations\n## Why we need a theory of simulations\n# What counts as a simulation\n## Confusion from varied teacher interpretations\n# Examples and implications for practice\n## Comparing simulation and demonstration approaches","[{\"question\":\"Why do simulations remain confusing for social studies teachers?\",\"answer\":\"Teachers often assume the same meaning when they use the term “simulation,” but they receive different definitions such as role-play, game, model, re-enactment, play, or demonstration. This leads to inconsistent understanding and difficulty discussing appropriate uses in classrooms.\"},{\"question\":\"What does recent research suggest about simulations and student learning?\",\"answer\":\"Although early research was unfavorable, more recent findings reveal new and interesting results across different domains of student learning. The article frames this renewed evidence as a reason teachers should access and apply research insights.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the article propose teachers should use simulation research in practice?\",\"answer\":\"It outlines five critical areas, including what simulations are, their affordances and challenges, and implications for curricular planning and classroom implementation. The later sections emphasize weaving simulations with other teaching, the role of control, and preparing diverse students to navigate simulations.\"}]","What Every Social Studies Teacher Should Know about Simulations - Abstract and Theory/Practice | PDF",1792085680]