The third volume in the experiential learning series, published on leanpub in 2015, addresses the design and use of simulations in learning contexts. Simulation here means structured experiences that mirror real-world dynamics in a compressed and controllable form — not computer simulations but the kind of human-process simulations that have been central to Weinberg's workshop practice.
Simulation as a learning tool has deep roots in systems thinking. general-systems-thinking provides the theoretical basis: a simulation is a model, and working with a model surfaces assumptions about the real system that direct engagement often obscures. When participants discover that the simulation produces outcomes they didn't expect, they are learning something about the underlying system dynamics.
The design of useful simulations is harder than it looks. They must be complex enough to generate genuine learning but simple enough to be navigable. They must create real stakes without real consequences. They must be debriefable — their dynamics must be visible enough that facilitators can help participants connect what happened to how they were thinking.
Weinberg developed many of the simulations described here over years of experimentation in workshops, refining them through observation of what participants actually learned versus what he hoped they would learn. This volume makes that design knowledge explicit and transmissible.