SimLab – Simulation Lab at UW-Madison
Enhancing Professional Competencies Through Rehearsals
Learning to Manage Challenging Situations
Simulation-Based Learning at UW–Madison
The SimLab offers novices, pre-professionals, and working professionals the opportunity to rehearse challenging, high-stakes conversations in a safe, supportive environment. Such simulations are engaging, offer the opportunity for focused and tailored guidance and feedback, and have shown a positive impact on professional practice.
What is SimLab?
UW SimLab is a project within WCER established to address training and assessment of professionals’ skills in managing challenging situations. Its focus is developing scenarios that support difficult conversations in the education field. These scenarios will quickly lead to similar work in other domains.
What SimLab does
SimLab personnel develop and deliver simulations of challenging situations in a partnership with subject-matter experts and supported by AI techniques.
Development includes scenarios
- Outlining a backstory and storyline
- Creating personas to support the storyline
- Crafting different flows that represent better and worse choices
- Formulating a rubric against which to measure performance
Delivery involves professionals completing one or more iterations of the scenario, all while monitoring their actions, and providing guidance and feedback on their performance.
