Simulation was used as a teaching method in a family communication class to foster a feeling of empathy with others. Although the course was originally designed to be taught as a seminar, the large number of students prompted the division of students into groups of five or six, characterized as families, each of which was to discuss concepts and issues in class and work on projects outside of class. The family groups developed their own networks of communication as the semester progressed. One advantage of using the simulated family system was that students began to identify with their group and to rely on the others for support in group discussion. Another was that the active discussion in the groups allowed students to discover and analyze their own communication behavior as well as that of others. Although some weaknesses did appear, such as the tendency to oversimplify a situation because of the narrowness of point of view and the length of time the simulation required, the strengths of using the simulated family systems outweighed the weaknesses. (DF)