Dynamic, Interactive Simulations for Enhancing Student Learning (original) (raw)

Adding value to physics education technology simulations

2012

The Physics Education Technology (PhET) group at the University of Colorado, Boulder has created more than 60 open source, research based simulations that cover concepts in basic physics to state of the art research. We have added value to some of the PhET simulations by tinkering with the source code. The modified simulations are easily embedded into collaborative learning environments and online assessment systems. We believe this will lead to enhanced student interaction and learning outcomes. Examples of how we use these simulations in two open source environments will be presented. The first is a MediaWiki (the software that runs Wikipedia) wiki installation and the second is an Online ASsessment and Integrated Study (OASIS) installation.

PhET: Interactive Simulations for Teaching and Learning Physics

The Physics Teacher, 2006

T he Physics Education Technology (PhET) project creates useful simulations for teaching and learning physics and makes them freely available from the PhET website (http://phet. colorado.edu). The simulations (sims) are animated, interactive, and game-like environments in which students learn through exploration. In these sims, we emphasize the connections between real-life phenomena and the underlying science, and seek to make the visual and conceptual models of expert physicists accessible to students. We use a research-based approach in our design-incorporating findings from prior research and our own testing to create sims that support student engagement with and understanding of physics concepts.

Using computer simulation to aid the interactive learning of physics in secondary education

Physics Education, 2018

In this article a new authorial EduPython application is presented. It is an online tool that supports the teaching of physics using a problem-solving method. It gives the teacher an opportunity to collect data that students send using their smartphones. The application uses the data to produce a collective answer of all the students which gives the feedback. On the basis of the feedback, students can find out how close they are to finding the correct answer. A teacher, on the other hand, can run the course of a lesson more precisely. Furthermore, EduPython lets the teacher run a lesson on the basis of computer simulations of real experiments, including those which are impossible to carry out in a regular school environment. In the paper, an example of interactive lesson at the level of secondary education using EduPython tool is presented.

Interactive Physics Simulations Appeal to First-Year Students

Computers in Physics, 1997

A t present, a great deal of effort is being devoted to improving the quality of educational software for physics 1-10 and expanding the use of computers in physics teaching. 11 Over the last five years, our research team has developed several programs based on simulations of physical phenomena. 12,13 In addition, we have also put them into practice, complementing the traditional instruction of first-year students. The students who used these programs got better grades than those who did not use the simulation programs, regardless of whether they were in the same class or in previous classes. 14 Based on this experience, and after a fruitless search for software that met our particular needs, we decided to develop a whole new suite of programs of our own: the Interactive Simulation (INSIMU) Project. The programs make use of the widely available Microsoft Windows environment and are based on up-to-date educational practices. Each program includes a simulation laboratory and a tutorial for the specific class of physical processes under study. As part of the IN-SIMU Project, we intend to compare students' understanding and misconceptions before and after they use the software. In the next section we outline the general characteristics of the INSIMU Project and the essential features of the programs. Later in the article we provide a more detailed description of a specific program devoted to the study of elastic structures.

The effects of computer assisted physics experiment simulations on students' learning

The main goal of this study is to present the significant difference between utilization of simulations of physics experiment during lectures and traditional physics lecture. Two groups of 115 students were selected for the purpose of the study. The same subjects have been taught to both groups, while a group of 115 had their lectures in science and technology class supported by physics experiment simulations for a month, the other group of 115 had their lectures in a traditional way. The r esearch has been conducted in Izzet Unver highs school in Istanbul, Gungoren. The main resource of this research is the data collected through surveys. The survey is a result of the literature and the suggestions of the experts on the topic. Thirty questions were prepared under ten topics. Two different surveys were conducted during the data collection. While the first survey questions focused on the effects of traditional lecturing on students, the second survey questions were targeting the effects of lecturing via the support of psychics experiment simulations. The data collected as a result of the survey which was coded in to SPSS Software and statistical anal yses was conducted. In order to test the significant difference between the means t-test was utilized. 0.05 was chosen as the significance level. As a result of the analyses utilized, significant differences were found in their satisfaction on class materials, in their motivation, in their learning speed, in their interest in the class, and in their c ontribution to the class. In findings such as the effect on students' learning, information availability, organization of information, students' integration to the class and gaining different point of views " lectures supported by physics experiment simulations " is significantly different from traditional lecturing. As the result of the literature review and the statistical analyses, " lectures supported via physics experiment simulations " seem to be more effective than traditional lecturing in science classes, in issues such as variability of approaches, student concept delusions, laboratory applications, utilization of information technologies and simulations.

Computer Simulation Development for Simulation-Based Learning in High-School Physics

International Journal of Learning and Teaching

COVID-19 has affected how teaching is carried out at all levels of education, including in high school. Teachers must adapt their teaching methods since students can no longer access school’s facilities. This became a concern, especially for subjects that require students to conduct experiments such as Physics. This paper is aimed to design and develop a computer simulation that can be used for simulation-based learning in high-school Physics, particularly on the topic of Newton’s law. The topics covered are constant acceleration linear motion, fraction, and force. Through literature studies, the features of the simulation were determined. The implemented features are interactivity through changeable parameters and immediate visual feedback, three graphics to show the acceleration, velocity, and position of an object, and a Comma-Separated Values (CSV) file that contains the detailed calculations of the simulation for debriefing. The simulation has been developed and evaluated throu...

Interactive Simulations to Physics Teaching: A Case Study in Brazilian High School

This paper presents the results of a study that investigated the use of simulators to improve physics teaching. The study population consisted of eight classes totaling 205 second year high school students from Brazilian public school. The research methodology adopted compares the average performance of students on tests conducted in the classroom to performance on tests conducted in the laboratory using computer simulators. The results obtained showed that students' performance on tests improved after the use of simulators. It was found that the students had more homogeneous test results when using the simulator.

Interactive Simulation on Modern Physics: A Systematic Review

International Journal of Multidisciplinary: Applied Business and Education Research

Physics is a theoretical science, understanding the concepts requires actual visual representations and models. Physics instructors should teach physics using inquiry, discovery, demonstration, simulation, practical work, lab-based activities, and other practical experiences. The current status of knowledge and practice regarding interactive simulation in the teaching of modern physics is presented in this systematic literature review. By methodically evaluating and summarizing the most pertinent previous research publications published from December 2002 to January 2022, it offers guidance for instructional designers and scholars. After careful consideration and screening, a total of eleven studies were chosen for a thorough analysis and synthesis. The results showed that the objective of the research studies on using interactive simulation in modern physics is to enhance students' critical thinking skills and creative problem-solving skills. It has been demonstrated that int...

Enhancing Students’ Learning of Physics Concepts with Simulation as an Instructional ICT Tool

European Journal of Interactive Multimedia and Education, 2021

The dwindling interest and perceived difficulty experienced by science students in learning physics at the senior high school level of education in Ghana speak to the need for the creation of authentic instructional platforms that promote enhanced learning as well as motivate students' interest in physics. This study used an explanatory case study design to examine the affordances of Physics Education Technology simulations (PhETs) as an instructional tool with the intent to explain how enhanced students' learning of physics concepts with simulations through implementation processes are possible in the context of Ghana. Nine pre-service physics teachers were engaged as learners to mimic the role of senior high school science students in witnessing simulation-based physics lessons. Questionnaires, pre-and post-tests and focus group interviews were the data sources employed in this study. The results showed that the learners' learning enhanced with the use of PhETs because their learning outcomes improved and also, they had positive experiences with the simulations. Consequently, the study advocates that enhanced learning of concepts in physics with simulations are possible through interactive implementation processes that are exploratory and demonstrative in nature and context-sensitive.