Change is a complex process. Simulations can help participants experience the process of change in a low-risk learning environment. Two different simulation board games that incorporate change research principles are described below.

Making Change

This game demonstrates that change is a process that focuses on developing individual's skills, comforts, and routines with a new practice. The focus of the simulation is on introducing a particular innovation, like a new curriculum or teaching practice. It presumes the practice is defined and learnable through awareness building and workshops for skill building. What people take away from this is that change efforts need to be planned out, that all people move through the process at different paces, and that they need different things at different times.

Systems Thinking/Systems Changing

This is a more comprehensive look at change within a system. This simulation provides a framework and a process for designing and implementing effective system-wide change in school districts. This change can be anything from integrating new technology into the system, to integrating new curriculum standards, to changing the culture and operating principles of an organization. It is a simulation that teaches participants the importance of using data and understanding their school's or system's current reality, balancing planning with action, creating a shared vision, involving all stakeholders in a change, using a system's view of issues, understanding each other's mental models, listening to and learning from resistance to change, and valuing and supporting team and individual learning. It also demonstrates that change is a process, that people go through stages in adopting a change and need different things at different stages, and that effective systemic change takes time, planning, and persistence.

For more information on these simulations, contact:
Carol Bershad
ST&C Associates
25 Hammond Rd.
Natick, MA 01760
508-652-9954
cbers@attbi.com