A study of using simulation technology to improve crisis management capabilities in schools

Within the United States education systems, numerous crisis situations occur each year that receive both local and national attention. One problem that affects an organization's ability to respond to these situations is the lack of experience by individuals in dealing with the multiple tasks caused by a crisis situation. There is a need to train teachers and administrators to respond to a wide range of crisis situations that, if not handled quickly and effectively, can rapidly escalate and become life threatening.;To improve the effectiveness of training for teachers and school administrators, there is a need to develop realistic (simulated) training situations in order to allow them to practice the necessary skills to deal with realworld crisis situations. The use of simulation within the area of crisis management will improve a school's ability to deal with crisis situations by rehearsing scenarios; preplanning team activities; practicing decision making; practicing coordination among other local agencies; and managing resources.;Two related problems were investigated in this study: (a) What are the competencies required of teachers and administrators to respond to crisis situations in a specific school environment? and (b) What is the impact on preparing those individuals to perform those competencies through an enhanced simulation based training methodology? A comparison of current training methodology and the impact that a simulation enhanced environment has on learning outcomes was examined.