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1. Implementation of Immersive Classroom Simulation Activities in a Mathematics Methods Course and a Life and Environmental Science Course

   Lee, C.W; Lee, T.D.; Castles, R.; Dickerson, D.; Fales, H.; Wilson, C.M. (December 2018, Journal of interdisciplinary teacher leadership)

   This study investigated the influence of immersive classroom simulation activities on the development of elementary pre-service teachers in two separate mathematics and science education courses that simultaneously focus on pedagogy and content. Participants submitted written personal reflections about their teaching experiences using the immersive classroom simulation activities. These reflections were analyzed for common emergent themes within and across courses. The participants discussed the benefits of the immersive classroom simulation activities in their written personal reflections. They viewed the experience as helpful in developing their skills as a practicing teacher in mathematics and science. Specifically, participants identified three sub-themes including: (a) the immersive classroom simulation activities as being beneficial by providing more authentic real-life teaching experiences than those experienced during peer-group teaching activities; (b) the importance of holding complete and appropriate understandings of content when teaching mathematics and science; and (c) the role of deep content knowledge in the process of developing high quality questions for students. This study has shown immersive classroom simulation activities to be a viable alternative for teacher education programs to engage elementary pre- service teachers in developing skills regarding classroom mathematics and science discourse. 

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2. Dynamic Building Activities Management in Healthcare Facilities: A Simulation Study in a Catheterization Lab

   Y. E. Kalay, D. Schaumann (January 2021, Symposium on Simulation in Architecture + Urban Design (SimAUD), 2021)

   We present a simulation-powered dynamic building activities management system, intended to help coordinate distributed decision-making activities in sensor-equipped complex buildings, such as healthcare facilities. It provides overall “awareness” of the current state of the facility and analyzes the impact of simulated alternative future actions of each actor in every space, simultaneously. These analytics are evaluated according to Key Performance Indicators (KPI), resulting in a recommendation for enacting the most desirable outcome. A preliminary simulation study based on St. Bernardine Medical Center (SBMC) Cardiac Catheterization Lab (CCL) is presented. 

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3. Team-Based Dynamics of Diagnosis and Intervention in a VR Simulation: Towards a Reasoning Process Model

   Richters, Constanze; Fischer, Martin R; Fischer, Frank; Popov, Vitaliy (June 2025, Proceedings of the 18th International Conference on Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning - CSCL 2025. Helsinki, Finland: International Society of the Learning Sciences.)

   Oshima, J; Chen, B; Vogel, F; Järvelä, J (Ed.)

   Accounting neglect of intervention reasoning in CSCL research, we propose a new process model for team-based diagnostic and intervention reasoning in acute care, focusing on interactions among diagnostic activities (DAs), intervention activities (IAs), and collaborative activities (CAs) such as joint information processing, coordination, and communication. Using epistemic network analysis, we analyzed data from a VR-based cardiac arrest simulation to validate this model by comparing expert- and novice-led teams. As expected, expert-led teams demonstrated faster, more cohesive transitions between DAs and IAs, with a streamlined, linear CA pattern, while novice-led teams exhibited slower, fragmented transitions with cyclical CA patterns. These findings support the model’s potential to capture expertise-driven coordination and efficiency in high-stakes settings. Future research may expand this model across diverse team compositions and problem contexts. By refining understanding of acute care team dynamics, this model paves the way for instructional strategies enhancing coordination and performance in collaborative problem solving. 

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4. A Plant Simulation Tool for Collaborative Biology Experiments in Middle-school Classrooms: An In-the-wild Study

   Sultana, A; Zeng, L; Wang, M; Cernova, S; Cang, X; Gnesdilow, D; Bakogeorge, A; Tibu, T; Tarun, A P; Puntambekar, S; et al (June 2024, Graphics Interface)

   Computer-aided simulation-based platforms have been shown to be effective tools for teaching STEM concepts. At the same time, Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) platforms encourage different viewpoints and approaches from the learners which can enrich the learning experience in STEM classrooms. The deployment in recent years of networked personal devices such as Chromebooks in classrooms has motivated educators to design collaborative learning tools for these devices. However, prior work has shown that using one-on-one devices may discourage students from talking among each other, which hinders collaboration. To understand the affordances of personal devices for CSCL tools within Biology curricula, we designed a collaborative plant growth simulation application that provides mirrored plant growth simulation views for every group member to facilitate a common visualization. In this paper, we present our findings from an in-the-wild study that evaluated the affordance and usability of the plant growth simulation application and investigated the nature of collaboration and engagement aided through the simulation mirroring feature. Our study results showed that the plant simulation application had high usability and acceptance. Moreover, mirroring the plant growth simulation improved collaboration, generated excitement, and stimulated conversation. We also identified episodes where collaboration was hindered due to off-task activities, troubleshooting, group dynamics, and lack of understanding that led us to outline some potential guidelines to improve the collaborative learning experience for the students in Biology classroom. 

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5. Participation and learning in labs before and during a pandemic

   Wilson-Fetrow, M.; Svihla, V.; Raihanian Mashhadi, A.; Shreve, A. (January 2021, Proceedings of the ASEE 128th Annual Conference and Exhibition)

   Experiments form the backbone of much of engineering education, but because it is not always possible to do them in person, simulations can provide a powerful alternative to assist student learning. We present data from two versions of two chemical engineering courses where in-person labs pivoted to virtual simulated experiments. In the first-year introduction to chemical engineering course we designed a simulation for students to design and then test a bench-scale prototype of a remediation column for acid mine drainage. In the junior-level chemical engineering laboratory—students typically carry out a bomb calorimetry experiment of sucrose and then analyze their data. We created a simulation based on a combination of thermodynamic models and previous years' data. We found that opportunities for learning came out of the amount of agency and the consequential decisions each experiment allowed the students to make. Based on student engagement and learning, we propose guidelines for integrating simulations as prelab activities. 

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