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Posted: September 24, 2025 by Bibek Chand

Bibek Chand is an associate professor in the Department of Political Science and International Affairs and the winner of a 2025 Teaching Excellence Award.

Simulations are experiential learning tools that are context-based and require students to role-play specific actors that have peculiar constraints and unique available actions. I serve as the faculty advisor for the Model United Nations Club on the Gainesville campus and instructor for the Model United Nations class that we offer in the Department of Political Science and International Affairs every Fall. In both the club and class, I have developed simulations to provide hands-on training to my students as they prepare for Model UN conferences. I have integrated these simulations into my other courses as well, given how effective they are at fostering student engagement.

Since starting at ÌìÃÀÉçÇø in 2019, I have looked for ways to keep students engaged in the classroom. I use the Socratic method to establish conceptual foundations and theoretical frameworks that are essential for my field of International Relations. I have gotten a good response with student-led discussions, but I also wanted students to engage in something where they applied conceptual frameworks and put these concepts into action. This is what led me to start using simulations that I developed for the Model UN in my other classes.

One of the simulations I use in my Global Issues class is about dealing with a zombie outbreak. Most students who take this course do so to fulfil their core curriculum requirement. I therefore wanted to make the simulation relatable to a wide audience—plus, using pop culture references always gets students excited and adds a pinch of humor. Prior to the simulation, I decide on what countries to include to maximize engagement and foster communication. Usually, I pick countries that do not always get along, since one of the concepts I want to examine through this simulation is the difficulty of international cooperation. Once the countries are decided, I come up with specific requirements/constraints for each. For example, one country may be overrun by zombies and is desperate for international aid. Another might be an island that is unaffected and is hesitant to commit resources to deal with the zombie outbreak.

On simulation day, I assign groups of students to specific countries. Each group is given a background sheet on the outbreak and a character sheet that highlights the country's positions on the topic. The goal is for all countries represented to agree on a global solution for containing the zombie outbreak. The simulation usually pans out this way for a 50-minute class:

1. Students are given 5 minutes to prepare an opening speech representing their country's interests. Each group elects a leader to speak on their behalf.
2. Groups then engage in caucusing for the next 15 minutes to come up with a solution. This is where all the bargaining happens. Some countries are given extra bonuses like "ability to give foreign aid to sway others" as an option to persuade another group.
3. Students are asked to get back to their seats. They are then given 5 more minutes to prepare for another set of speeches highlighting where they stand on the issue now.
4. 10 minutes are allocated for students to finalize their plan. If they fail, the collaboration collapses and I show them a slide that reads "Zombies Win."

I have run numerous iterations of this simulation in my Global Issues class and every single time it has been the most popular exercise in that class. Students reported that it reinforced their understanding of how difficult it is for countries to cooperate given their divergent interests and geopolitical positions. This exercise also helps reinforce concepts in International Relations like sovereignty, international cooperation, and diplomacy – all conceptually difficult to grasp. This simulation provides students hands-on experience to reinforce their understanding of abstract concepts.

Other simulations I have run include one dealing with human rights issues inspired by real-world events but set in a fictional country. Another considers how to respond to an alien invasion. I use a mix of fictionalized and real-world events to inform my simulations, but all of them relate back to different components of International Relations. Much of the work is done prior to the simulation when setting up the background and selecting which actors to include. These simulations can be easily adapted to other fields in the Humanities and Social Sciences as the logic is to garner student engagement through role-playing.

I continue to use simulations in all of my courses, regardless of level. Each of them has fostered lively conversations and students have time and again commented on how much they connected the experience of the simulation back to our course topics. I hope to continue this conversation on October 8 during the Engaging Pedagogy Exchanges session titled "Using Simulations as Pedagogical Tools."

These are some of the resources I have used in the past for designing my simulations: