My students love to play games and they can be very competitive. I always include discussion (debriefing) at the end of an activity. In our field, so much of our learning comes from what you feel. So discussing is very much necessary.
I find critique to be an excellent tool as well. I'm glad that the course pointed out the value of debriefing too. It's easy to forget that quietly reflecting on what you have learned can really crystallize the information.
In my experience, debriefs are hugely important. It is a time and method to revisit, re-examine and asses content and the learning experience. If done collectively, it is also a way for learners to gain (additional) insights through the debrief of their peers.
I teach in a creative field and our class debriefing is done through formal and informal critiques. When a student presents his or her work, on a screen or in printed form, they are forced to look at it critically and question whether or not they grasped the objectives.
Elizabeth,
yes, this is so true. I tell my training classes that the activity is minimal in comparison to the debrief.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Debriefing is equally as important or more important than the game or simulation because it is only through debriefing that learning actually occurs. Learning occurs through reflection of the game/simulation/activity, and debriefing causes students to reflect on the games/simulations/activities conducted.
Edward,
yes, this is one of the strongest values to debriefing, it really does help us gauge the level of understanding & see what we might need to recover.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
The debriefing really gauages how well the student gained a skill and understands where and when to use their skill they just obtained from an excercise or projrect.
charlene,
yes, we need to ask the powerful questions as well as helping summarize things & bring it to an end as well.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
This is the first time I have learned about Debriefing, I guess I've used it before, not knowing the correct term. I can now see how synthesis and evaluation fit in to debriefing. An opportunity for both student and instructors to think critically and problem solve is a much needed level of learning for the dental hygiene student. I enjoyed and learned from this section a great deal!
Clare,
great point, the old "after action review" is a great way to facilitate the learning from these activities.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I think there are many opportunities to improve future learning exercises. Allowing the students to explain what they would do again and what they would do differently can streamline and exponentiate future learning lessons.
Chloe,
you are right that it is essential & as you pointed out it really helps gauge the understanding & also forces the students to reflect on what they've learned.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I think debriefing is essential because it allows instructors to gauge students' understanding of a topic while also allowing the material to sink in. Taking a step back and looking at the bigger picture, then getting into a more involved debriefing discussion is very important.
James,
And the deeper we go with the debrief questions the more learning will occur.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I like to watch students "get it" as they describe their perception of the activity. Actually having to interpret and reflect on what happened brings about great insight.
edward,
this is a good point regarding debriefing in a way that avoids seeming repetition.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I like to debrief as a way to review the information without it seeming as though we are going over the same information twice and this helps to have higher test scores as they retain more information hearing it several times.
Robert,
this is so true & really it doesn't matter how great your activity is, if there is no debrief, the application of learning will be suspect.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Sometimes students surprise themselves with the own retention of material. It's the human element, when the students see that we are human and we are here to help them succeed. You can see the virtual light come on and it's very self-rewarding.
