Modern Theory for Development of Simulators for Surgical Education

Abstract

As the demand for simulation-based educational curricula continues to grow, the development of models to meet the educational needs for surgeons is also evolving. In this chapter, we present a process for the design and development of simulators used in medical/surgical education. The process for development was conceived based on the concept of “backward design” as part of the Understanding by Design® Framework (UbD™) which was introduced by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe and the current Guidelines for Simulation Development which was developed by the Technology and Simulation Committee of the Accredited Education Institutes Consortium. We also applied the taxonomy for test development and validation described in the current “Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing” which was produced through collaborative efforts of a committee from the Educational Research Association, the National Council on Measurement in Education, and the American Psychological Association. Four phases are described for this process. Phase I includes assessment of the requirements from the physicians’ perspective, phase II entails translating physicians’ requirements to engineers’ requirements, phase III includes development of the prototype(s), and phase IV describes an iterative validation process. All four phases are presented and discussed in detail.