Topic 5 Simulation Activities
Two or more groups are created. The first group begins to move through the space at a specific pace using specific movement patterns. The second group interacts with the first and moves accordingly or inversely according to the first group (eg it can move at a higher or lower speed). Each new group can interact with the previous one or the first one. Music may or may not be used depending on the composition of the group (in the presence of Deaf or mentally impaired people who are affected by music).
I define a surface and call it a space of interest (symbolically it could be our house, the theater stage, the workplace, or a bounded box that I am allowed to move). Inside this area of interest, we tape three identical squares with paper tape. In the beginning, a certain number of students (3-5) move freely. When the instructor gives a sound or acoustic signal, the students must choose which square they will go to. In the second phase of the exercise, the instructor adds other students (up to 5 each time) and repeats the same as before. That is, the new largest number of participants is invited to choose which block they will go to.
Questions the instructor may ask:
- How many people fit inside each square?
- How many people fit inside each square comfortably?
- How many people fit inside each square squished together?
- Can I predict how many will fit in the entire area of interest?
- If the squares are areas of pollution can I predict the strength/intensity of the pollution?
Duration of each activity: 15-20′
Assessment of Unit
Duration: 5-10’
Students express in a large circle how they felt or what they understood.
