Disciplines: The Debrief

Health Sciences

The existing scholarship suggests holding a debrief session immediately after the simulation is complete, ideally in a clinical setting in order to mirror the learning experience of the simulation itself.  Both Mayville (2011) and Wickers (2010) stress the importance of individual debriefs in imparting feedback on skill retention and progress with learning objectives.

Natural Sciences

Laboratory settings can utilize the experimental environment and tools within the debrief session. Note-taking and journal writing can also be valuable contributors to debriefing in courses with large student numbers (Millenbah & Millspaugh, 2003).

Social Sciences

Writing is such an integral part of learning in the social sciences that it should form an important pillar of the debriefing process.  Shellman and Turan (2006) discuss the merits of oral versus written debrief in a social science classroom.