Funded by the Canada Foundation for Innovation, SIM Social Work Research Lab aims to strengthen, innovate, and mobilize simulation-based research on social work education and practice. This is the first and only social work-specific, simulation-based research lab in North America.
What is Simulation-based Research?
Simulation refers to a situation where a student or a practitioner engages with a simulated “client” (i.e., actors, artificial intelligence technology) portraying a designed character and scenario similar to those encountered in practice. Simulation-based research can be categorized into the following two types:
- Research on simulation as a pedagogical approach in teaching professional practice, and
- Research that uses simulation as a methodology to research practice behaviours among students and professionals.
Are you a community agency interested in partnering with the SIM Lab? If so, click here.
The Lab
The lab is designed to reflect a realistic practice environment and includes a waiting and counselling room. The furniture in these rooms is moveable to replicate a broad range of agency and institutional settings, and to accommodate work with individuals, families, and small groups. The rooms are equipped with the latest AV technologies. The counselling room includes a large screen for interacting with AI clients, and shares a one-way mirror to the observation room/office with computer equipment and access to a variety of research software.
The lab is on the 11th floor of Dunton Tower at Carleton University.
