Simulations at °®¶¹´«Ã½
°®¶¹´«Ã½ is a pioneer in the use of realistic simulations that prepare students for the intensity and complex challenges they encounter as professionals in the field.
![°®¶¹´«Ã½ simulations and training](/sites/default/files/styles/banner_image_medium_desktop_med_to_lrg/public/2019-Simulations-2400x500.jpg?h=ea782a08&itok=cIdSQn7x)
°®¶¹´«Ã½ is a pioneer in the use of realistic simulations that prepare students for the intensity and complex challenges they encounter as professionals in the field.
Simulations enhance and solidify skills, resulting in safe and secure communities. They are at the heart of ´³±õµþ°ä’s education and training for public and community safety.
They involve realistic portrayals of an emergency or crisis situation, allowing students to actively apply newfound knowledge within a safe learning environment and to gain insight.
This type of experiential learning is a critical component of °®¶¹´«Ã½'s applied learning model.
Not only working with students, °®¶¹´«Ã½ has also worked with government agencies and private industry to produce simulation scenarios of catastrophic events and critical incidents.
Educational simulations involve the use of computers, role-playing, case studies, apparatus or games. They’re designed to imitate or model the behaviour of a situation or system that represents a real-world event, giving simulation participants the opportunity to practice skills in a non-threatening and realistic context.
Participants receive information, complete tasks and make decisions within prescribed timeframes. All activities, decisions and rationales for decisions are captured and saved to a database for participants and facilitators to review and learn from in a safe, consequence-free environment.
Because it’s web-based, training can be delivered at any location equipped with high-speed internet on standard computers.
°®¶¹´«Ã½ offers state-of-the-art resources for conducting simulations including the Dr. Donald B. Rix Public Safety Simulation Building and the award-winning computer simulation technology.
Using these and other resources, °®¶¹´«Ã½ incorporates simulations in programs and courses across the Institute as well as in customized contract training.
°®¶¹´«Ã½ uses , an online, team-based learning system that focuses on decision-making simulations. Computer-assisted simulations provide an effective way to transfer knowledge in a low-risk environment where it is otherwise impractical, dangerous or expensive to provide learning through real-life, on-the-job experience.
Online training simulations give students immersive, interactive first-person perspectives of unfolding scenarios or events. Critical thinking is required as learners apply theories and lessons learned while encountering challenging decision points.
Participants gain valuable insight and understanding as they experience the outcomes and consequences of their decisions. The experience and knowledge gained are used to inform better decision making in the future.
Web-based, allowing for the delivery of simulations anytime, anywhere
Brings real-world scenarios to life
Conveys a deeper conceptual understanding of complex, dynamic processes
Develops the skills to practice and manage the complexities and stress of a critical incident or major event -- even the most unforeseen contingency
Refines decision-making skills
Assists in the development of strong, highly functioning individuals and teams
´³±õµþ°ä’s Emergency Management Division offers Exercise Design training and services. Exercising is a critical component for every emergency management and business continuity plan. It’s the best way to apply learning and it identifies important resource gaps for public or private organizations.
Build exercise design expertise within teams or organizations
Support in-house teams in the development and/or delivery of any type of exercise including seminars, workshops, table-tops, immersive simulations, drills, functional exercises or full-scale exercises
°®¶¹´«Ã½ can develop and deliver a custom exercise for organizations, and design and provide an exercise using ´³±õµþ°ä’s Praxis: Computer Assisted Simulation system.
´³±õµþ°ä’s Fire & Safety Division conducts extensive simulations at the Institute’s Maple Ridge campus. The campus is equipped with a burn building, ship mockup, hazmat warehouse and other resources to prepare students for situations they may face when responding to incidents with fire departments.
In the burn building, students working in teams use attack lines, ladders, personal protective equipment and other tools to attack interior structure fires. Along with instruction from training officers, students using the burn building practice correct water application and suppression practices for bringing fires under control.
The ship mockup is used to train professionals entering the marine industry in techniques to fight fires aboard ships. Using the ship standpipe system, students enter a vessel replica that has various compartments found aboard a boat and practice shipboard firefighting techniques.
In the hazmat warehouse, technicians spill coloured liquid or a powder-type product to simulate potentially hazardous material. Students enter the building wearing protective equipment to investigate and/or remediate the situation.
The School of Health, Community & Social Justice maximizes the use of simulations to help learners develop competence in leadership, conflict resolution and counselling for dynamic and complex situations. Through case and problem-based activities, role-play scenarios and technology-enabled simulation, our learners are immersed in real-world situations relevant to their professional practice.
Students participate in a unique computer-based leadership simulation to apply core leadership skills to a real-time workplace scenario. This immersive learning experience hones skills in decision-making, teamwork, human resource management and crisis leadership, and can be immediately applied in the workplace.
In courses specifically designed for counsellors, therapists and front-line workers in a variety of agencies, learners practice what they learn in the classroom by role-playing counselling techniques. This gives them the opportunity to experience exactly how the latest evidence-based skills used in contemporary counselling practice today can be implemented.
In courses for community safety professionals such as bylaw officers, a variety of simulation methods are used to reflect the situations they will encounter in their daily work setting.
Simulation in conflict resolution programs and courses is primarily based on role-playing engagement in conflict scenarios. Learners participate in scenario-based conflict situations to practice their skills, approaches and processes in small, facilitated groups.
They receive individualized feedback from professional coaches who help learners reflect on their experience both during and after the simulation. Coaches also provide feedback on learners’ areas of strength and areas for improvement.
From segmented calls to the use of high-fidelity mannequins to full interprofessional and interdisciplinary exercises, the School embraces simulation learning.
Segmented calls (using a portion of a response to focus on a specific skill set)
Role-play (using actors to practice assessment and treatment)
Full calls (practicing dispatch, assessment, treatment and transportation of a patient to a care facility)
High-fidelity simulations (using mannequins for low-incidence, high-risk scenarios)
Full-scale exercises (conducting simulations in conjunction with other health professionals and public safety sector organizations to enrich wide-scale incident training)
In their feedback, students give high ratings to our simulation-based education and training due to the quality of the learning and the expertise of our faculty.