Opportunities for Inquiry and Dialogue - Simulations and Drills

Transfer of knowledge and skills from the learning environment to the job is most likely to happen when the conditions of learning best replicate what is being required on the job.

Students are more likely to remember when instruction is active and geared toward their learning style within the actual operating environment they work in—with all the variables of direct human interaction, field conditions, stress and fatigue.

Whenever possible, integrate learning objectives into live simulations and drills in which real people are put into situations where they have to make decisions and communicate them effectively under true workplace conditions.

Live simulations are low-risk, educational or training experiences which substitute for some aspects of a real-world situation. Typically, these exercises involve people and equipment operating in a realistically simulated setting. Time is continuous, as in the real world.

The spectrum of live simulations ranges from several individuals running through a hose lay drill, to several crews doing a medivac rehearsal, to Incident Management Team trainees running a theoretical fire in a full-scale role-play exercise.

Virtual simulations are a learning tool that utilize computer hardware and software in which students interface with trainers that resemble, to some degree, the equipment or situation that is to be encountered on the job—such as a flight simulator or virtual reality applications. These are also part of the simulation arsenal, though more difficult to support from a logistic and finance perspective.

Simulations are constructed based on verified models of actual systems and procedures. Simulations can be very simple and inexpensive drills at the tactical level or very complex and expensive full-scale role-play rehearsals at the strategic level. The approach taken depends on the degree of fidelity and resolution needed to achieve the learning objectives and outcomes relative to operation of the actual system.

[Click here to download Learning in the Wildland Fire Service.]