Design implementation and investigation of simulation-based experiential learning applications in social studies education

This study has been implemented in Social Studies Education discipline with 7'th class secondary school pupil. The experimental implementation has been helded under according to Social Studies Curriculum "Individuals and Society" learning field with "Existing Democracy Learning Theme". In the study, 5 of learning objectives had been existed same as defined in curriculum; the learning process and progress had been re-designed according to experiential learning theory and simulation based education technique's fundamentals. According to the learning objectives, 3 different and unique simulation games had been developed and delivered to learners. Research model was defined as experimental model and mixed as qualitative and quantitative methods both and there were several social and demographic factors had been investigated meanwhile with main variables as problem solving skills, decision making skills and student attitudes toward social studies lesson. There was'nt meet up standart scale to collect a data about simulation based education in the literature; thus quantitative data collection became inevitable and semi-structered 7 open-ended questions directed to participants and the data collected with them. Research had been executed in 2016's spring period in Cumhuriyet Secondary School, Karahallı District, Uşak. There were 42 participants; 21 in experiment group and 21 in control group. Qualitative datas had been analysed with Spearman Rho's correlations test, non-parametric tests such as Wilcoxon Signed Ranks test, Mann Whitney U's test and Kruskal Wallis H test. Quantitative datas had been analysed with technique of content analyse. According to qualitative results of the study shows us; simulation based experiential education process had been increased pupil's attitudes toward social studies lesson, problem solving skills and decision making skills significantly in experiment group. In the experiment group's results; after the lesson implementation; sum of problem solving skills group average had been increased 12,2% significantly even as control group decreased 2,6%. For the decision making scores and its average; experiment group had been increased 15,1% even as control group had been increased only 0,2% insignificantly. According to social studies attitude's scale results; experiment group had been increased their average 5,4% and control group had been decreased 1,9%. These results show us how simulation based experiential education works well and meaningful in the real lesson progress and implementations. On the other hand; in the quantitive results of the study; it had been showed that: pupil like the lesson progress and the learning process and they found it funny and amazing; they learn by doing, everybody feels equal in the class, democratic learning atmoshphere prevailed. Very few participants pointed that sometimes it was boring and they did not learn what they expected. Moreover; commonly participants felt themselves in the history and they animated the historical moments as they were there on that time period; they participated actively to the role-plays in simulations.