In spite of decades of use of agent-based modelling in social policy
research and in educational contexts, very little work has been done on
combining the two. This paper accounts for a proof-of-concept single
case-study conducted in a college-level Social Policy course, using
agent-based modelling to teach students about the social and human
aspects of urban planning and regional development. The study finds
that an agent-based model helped a group of students think through a
social policy design decision by acting as an object-to-think-with,
and helped students better connect social policy outcomes with behaviours
at the level of individual citizens. The study also suggests a set of
new issues facing the design of Constructionist activities or
environments for the social sciences.
Keywords:
agent-based modelling, NetLogo, social policy education, constructionism.
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