Citation

Ketelaars E, Flandin S, Poizat G. Safety Sci. 2023; 165: e106189.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.ssci.2023.106189

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Novice and occasional crisis managers (NOCM) such as elected officials or public service managers play an essential role in civil protection. Although simulations are an important way of preparing for crisis response , conditions of simulation effectiveness for this target group are under-investigated. Specifically, high-fidelity is generally thought to be a paramount condition for simulation effectiveness. This conviction is regularly doubted in the literature, especially when it comes to novice or occasional practitioners. The aim of this study was to understand how high- and low-fidelity mechanisms in crisis simulations afford improvement opportunities for novice and occasional crisis managers. We video-recorded (i) four participants' behavior in two contrasting typical high- and low-fidelity simulations, and (ii) four self-confrontation interviews. Using Billett's theory of workplace learning (2001) combined with the course-of-action framework (Poizat et al., 2022), we analyzed and synthesized high- and low-fidelity simulation conditions with a four-dimension model.

RESULTS show that a slow tempo, a clearly stated fictional contract, physical and functional fidelity, a crisis element, and an appropriate pedagogical support tend to afford improvement opportunities for NOCMs. Implications for simulation design and pedagogical support are discussed. We propose an alternative for costly high-fidelity simulations: the "good enough simulation".

Language: en

Keywords

affordances; civil security; Crisis management simulation; learning; training design; training efficacy