Online simulations offer opportunities for trial and error decision-making. What better tool for a principal than to make decisions when the consequences will not have real-world ramifications. In this study, two groups of graduate students in a principal preparation program taking the same course in the same semester use online simulations differently. The control group accessed online decision-making simulations and practiced making decisions for the represented scenario. Using a peer apprenticeship model, the experimental group of students created simulations and decision trees leading to solutions of the same problem in an online tool called SimWriterSimplicity. While both groups of students indicate that online simulations helped them solve problems, students who actually developed their own simulations walked away with more leadership skills. This process offers principal preparation programs a tool for internship experiences that also accommodate the graduate student working full time.
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