Written Debriefing: The Next Vital Step in Learning with Simulations

Abstract

After 25 years of working with simulations, one of the author’s amazing discoveries has been that students learn much more after completig written debriefing than just oral debriefing. However, in the field of simulations, written debriefing is rarely used or even discussed. The theoretical foundation of simulation and gaming is experiential learning. The proposal in this article is to capture the excitement and energy of the simulation and oral debriefing and use it as a springboard for more learning in written debriefing. Allowing participants time to reflect on all the activity and their emotions helps them put everything in perspective. The major hurdle is the time needed to write and to evaluate the writing. However, the benefits far outweigh the costs. With written debriefing, participants can reflect about their behavior, facilitators can assess individual learning, and students can privately communicate with their professor. Written debriefing should become a major instrument in the field to promote better learning.