PhET Interactive Simulations: Transformative Tools for Teaching

Jul 2, 2014 - ... https://cdn.mathjax.org/mathjax/contrib/a11y/accessibility-menu.js ..... In combination, these principles have produced a suite of t...
0 downloads 0 Views 2MB Size
Download PDF
Article pubs.acs.org/jchemeduc

PhET Interactive Simulations: Transformative Tools for Teaching Chemistry Emily B. Moore,*,†,‡ Julia M. Chamberlain,‡ Robert Parson,§ and Katherine K. Perkins‡ †

School of Education, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado 80309, United States Department of Physics, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado 80309, United States § Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and JILA, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado 80309, United States ‡

S Supporting Information *

ABSTRACT: Developing fluency across symbolic-, macroscopic-, and particulate-level representations is central to learning chemistry. Within the chemistry education community, animations and simulations that support multi-representational fluency are considered critical. With advances in the accessibility and sophistication of technology, interactive computer simulations are emerging as uniquely powerful tools to support chemistry learning. In this article, we present examples and resources to support successful implementation of PhET interactive simulations. The PhET Interactive Simulations project at the University of Colorado Boulder has developed over 30 interactive simulations for teaching and learning chemistry. PhET simulations provide dynamic access to multiple representations, make the invisible visible, scaffold inquiry, and allow for safe and quick access to multiple trials, while being engaging and fun for students and teachers. The simulations are readily accessible online, and are designed to be flexible tools to support a wide-range of implementation styles and teaching environments. Here, we introduce the PhET project, including the project’s goals and design principles. We then highlight two simulations for chemistry, Molecule Polarity and Beer’s Law Lab. Finally, we share examples (with resources) of the variety of ways PhET simulations can be used to teach chemistryin lecture, laboratory, and homework. KEYWORDS: First-Year Undergraduate/General, High School/Introductory Chemistry, Elementary/Middle School Science, Second-Year Undergraduate, Computer-Based Learning, Inquiry-Based/Discovery Learning, Internet/Web-Based Learning

■

A

nimations and simulations have long been recognized as important in the teaching and learning of chemistry.1−4 With increased access to technology in the classroom, interactive visualization tools have emerged as uniquely powerful for transforming chemistry education. Interactive simulations provide dynamic access to multiple representations, make the invisible visible, scaffold the inquiry process, and allow for multiple trials and rapid feedback cycles, while being engaging and fun for students and teachers. Interactive simulations are readily accessible online, which allows for flexible use. In this article, we introduce the PhET Interactive Simulations project5 at University of Colorado Boulder. The educational effectiveness of interactive simulations depends on the quality of the simulation design as well as its implementation with students.6,7 Here we highlight two chemistry simulations, Molecule Polarity and Beer’s Law Lab, and describe a range of strategies and resources for effective implementation of PhET simulations in the classroomfrom use as in-class demos to writing simulation-based guided-inquiry activities. We include Supporting Information and Web links to support both new and experienced PhET users. © XXXX American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc.

PHET PROJECT GOALS AND DESIGN

Since 2002, the PhET project has developed 127 interactive simulations (sims) for science and mathematics education, with over 30 sims for teaching chemistry and all available for free online.5 The project has broad pedagogical and accessibility goals that drive design and dissemination choices, shown in Figure 1. Notably, PhET sims aim to simultaneously support content, process, and affective goals. Sims are widely used across K−12 and college levels (over 40 million uses worldwide in 2012), and are highly regarded for their quality and impact, as recognized by the NSF/Science Magazine Visualization Challenge award and the 2011 Tech Award for Technology Benefitting Humanity. PhET sims are created by a team of content, education, and interface design experts, along with experienced teachers and professional software developers. Each sim is also informed by student interviews. With the use of principles that leverage design to support students in achieving the diverse goals of the sims, PhET sims have a distinct look and feel.8 These design principlesinformed by the research and design experience from the PhET project, and research from the science education and educational design communities3,9,10include

A

dx.doi.org/10.1021/ed4005084 | J. Chem. Educ. XXXX, XXX, XXX−XXX

Journal of Chemical Education

Article

being intuitive, engaging and fun. For more details on PhET’s goals, design principles, and development process, see Lancaster et al.12

■

PHET FOR CHEMISTRY PhET chemistry sims address topics ranging from subatomic particles to chemical dynamics. Through interactive representations, the sims allow students to explore complex chemical phenomena (e.g., dissolving) and multiple representations, spanning particulate, symbolic, and macroscopic levels. Rather than requiring accurate interpretation of a static visual model, students can engage with and discuss dynamic systems that provide feedback specifically designed to support student learning. A list of available chemistry sims and their alignment with the typical sequence in introductory undergraduate chemistry is included in the Supporting Information. Here, we highlight two recently developed sims, illustrating available features and how these features support student learning.

Figure 1. Pedagogical and Accessibility Goals. Image by PhET Interactive Simulations and used with permission.

Molecule Polarity Sim

The Molecule Polarity sim addresses bond dipole and molecule polarity. The topics are sequenced through three tabs, shown in Figure 2. The “Two Atoms” tab targets the relationship among electronegativity, bond dipole and dipole representations; the “Three Atoms” tab targets the relationship between bond dipoles and molecule dipole, and the “Real Molecules” tab allows students to explore trends across example real molecules. In the “Two Atoms” tab, students can interact with a generic two-atom molecule by rotating the molecule and changing the electronegativity of each generic atom. As students interact with the molecule, they can view and draw connections to the corresponding changes in the bond dipole arrow, partial charges, and bond character (more ionic to more covalent). Students can observe the effect of changing the electronegativity of the generic atoms on electrostatic potential and electron density surfaces. The two-atom molecule is situated between two plates; students can turn on an electric field and see how the molecule will rotate to align with the field, demonstrating a physical effect of the molecule’s polarity. In the “Three Atoms” tab, students can change the electronegativities in a generic three-atom molecule and can drag atoms to change the bond angle. This additional feature supports students in making sense of molecular dipole as the sum of bond dipoles. Students can visualize and investigate how these interactions affect the bond dipole, partial charges, and the molecule dipole. In the “Real Molecule” tab, students can choose from a list of 19 real molecules to view in an embedded Jmol window. By comparing bond dipoles, molecular dipoles, partial charges and atom electronegativity values, students can determine trends in molecule polarity and geometry.

• Interactivity: Sims allow students to interact with key parameters for conceptual understanding (e.g., adding or removing solute in solution). • Dynamic Feedback: Each interaction results in immediate visual feedback (e.g., solution color changes). Dynamic feedback supports students to ask and answer their own questions as they explore a feature or phenomenon. • Multiple Representations: Students can explore and develop connections across multiple representations (e.g., coordinating pictorial and symbolic representations of dipoles). • Pedagogically Usef ul Actions: Sims allow actions that are difficult or impossible in the real world, which can provide insight that is otherwise difficult to achieve (e.g., allowing students to change the electronegativity of generic atoms and see the effect on bond dipoles). • An Intuitive Interface: The intuitive interface supports student engagement and exploration by minimizing barriers to use (e.g., simple starting screen with options to build complexity) and emphasizing learning through interaction (e.g., obvious initial interactions provide relevant feedback). The intuitive interface allows for instruction to focus on conceptual understanding, rather than on how to use the sim. • Real World Connections: Where possible, the sims are designed to connect science concepts to students’ everyday life. • Challenges and Games: Sims are designed to be engaging and fun, sparking curiosity and a sense of challenge to motivate student interaction and exploration. • Implicit Scaf folding: The sims provide students with implicit, rather than explicit, guidance. This results in students being guided−without feeling guided.8,11 Implicit scaffolding is accomplished through careful choice of sim scope, color and location of available objects, interactivity, feedback, and sequencing of concepts through tabs. In combination, these principles have produced a suite of tools that are transforming the educational experience of students, supporting their understanding of chemistry concepts through exploration, experimentation, and discussion while

Beer’s Law Lab Sim

The Beer’s Law Lab sim, shown in Figure 3, addresses solution concentration and Beer’s Law, which relates the absorbance of light to the properties of the solution. The “Concentration” tab targets the concept of concentration and molarity, and the effects of dilution and evaporation. The “Beer’s Law” tab targets the relationships among solution concentration, path length, molar absorptivity, and wavelength of a solution’s light absorbance. In the “Concentration” tab, students can engage in real-world actions that change the solution concentration. A menu of eight solutions lets students select from seven colorful inorganic B

dx.doi.org/10.1021/ed4005084 | J. Chem. Educ. XXXX, XXX, XXX−XXX

Journal of Chemical Education

Article

Figure 3. Beer’s Law Lab simulation tabs: “Concentration” (upper) and “Beer’s Law” (lower). Image by PhET Interactive Simulations and used with permission.

■

STUDENT USE OF SIMS: A CLOSER LOOK Observing students using PhET sims provides valuable insight into how sims work to implicitly scaffold productive student interactions and sense making, insight that can ground and inform the integration of sims into instruction. In the following example, two students (S1 and S2) in a class of 80 explored the Molecule Polarity sim prior to receiving a guided-inquiry activity handout.13 At this point in class, they had been given instructions to “Just play with that sim for five or 10 min. Think about how the molecule shape impacts the polarity. Try to understand what’s going on as you play.” Students had received no prior instruction on the topic of molecule polarity during this course. The following transcript describes what happened over the first 1:19 (min:s) after the sim opened on S1’s laptop. 0:00 Molecule Polarity opens to the “Two Atoms” tab. 0:02 S1: OK. So. OK. So let’s see here. [increases Atom B electronegativity to maximum] I’m just messin’ around. 0:21 S2: I think that’s what we’re supposed to do right now. [increases to maximum then decreases to minimum Atom A electronegativity] 0:29 S1: OK. So if electron, er, if atom A is more electronegative [increases Atom A electronegativity] what does this mean? 0:38 S2: That’s the 0:39 S1: That means it [the bond dipole arrow] gets smaller? [moves Atom A electronegativity higher, then lower] 0:40 S2: Yeah. 0:45 S1: OK, and the same thing here. [moves Atom B electronegativity slider higher, then lower] OK, so the less electronegative that is and the more that is, the farther apart they’re gonna be. And if you bring ‘em [electronegativity sliders for Atom A and Atom B] closer together [moves Atom B electronegativity lower and Atom A

Figure 2. Molecule Polarity simulation tabs: “Two Atoms” (upper); “Three Atoms” (middle); “Real Molecules” (lower). Image by PhET Interactive Simulations and used with permission.

compounds, plus “drink mix”an everyday solution. Students can add solute either by shaking in solid crystalline particles or by dispensing a concentrated stock solution from a dropper. Students can explore the effects of adding solute and water to the solution, removing solution through a drain, and removing water by evaporation. Each action causes a corresponding change in the solution’s color intensity, and a movable probe allows comparison to quantitative concentration values. When solute is added beyond the solubility limit for each compound, saturation occurs and a solid forms at the bottom of the beaker. In the “Beer’s Law” tab, students can dynamically control the solution concentration and container width (path length) while observing the effects on a colored light beam as it passes through solution. This tab supports students’ coordination of the qualitative visual representation of colored light beam intensity and the corresponding quantitative values for absorption and percent transmittance. A wavelength control for the visible spectrum allows students to investigate and compare the absorbance of light across the visible spectrum for different colored solutions. C

dx.doi.org/10.1021/ed4005084 | J. Chem. Educ. XXXX, XXX, XXX−XXX

Journal of Chemical Education

Article

Supporting Information for Molecule Polarity guided-inquiry activity). The tool has transformed the way students approached this subject, encouraging sense making and concept invention instead of relying solely on rote memorization and pattern recognition.

electronegativity higher]OK. [moves Atom A electronegativity slider higher and lower] Oh, it switches [direction of bond dipole arrow]. “Cause that’d be more [Atom A’s electronegativity] and that’d be less [Atom B’s electronegativity]. [selects “Partial Charges”, then moves Atom A electronegativity to minimum and Atom B electronegativity to maximum] 1:18 S1: Makes sense, all right. 1:19 S2: Yeah. S1 quickly began interacting with the sim, exploring the atom electronegativity feature and dipole representation. This pattern of interaction is typical of students we have observed with sims in interviews and classrooms.12−16 The sims are designed so that starting interactions are obvious and intuitive, and result in immediate, productive feedback for sense making. The choice of interactive features focuses attention on concepts, and the intuitive design ensures students quickly understand how to interact with the sim. In this example, the generic two-atom molecule and the electronegativity sliders were inviting and intuitive, like colorful, real-world controls. The students immediately began interacting with this sim feature and making sense of the bond dipole representation. These students then discussed the relationships between the electronegativity sliders and the periodic table, and explored the bond character feature. Next, they moved to the “Three Atoms” tab, where they grappled with the molecular dipole arrow representation. 3:14 [Selects “Three Atoms” tab.] 3:16 S1: [rotates molecule] Oh, wow. [moves Atom C electronegativity f rom ‘less’ to middle, pauses, then moves to ‘more’] 3:21 S1: OK. 3:29 S1: So what is this [molecular dipole arrow] pointing to? I’m trying to think how this works here. [moves Atom C electronegativity f rom ‘more’ to ‘less’] More, less[moves Atom B electronegativity f rom the middle to ‘less’ then to ‘more’, then back to the middle, moves Atom C electronegativity from ‘more’ to the middle, pauses, then to ‘less’, selects “Partial Charges”, then “Bond Dipole”] 4:05 S1: OK. So those are just like when we were lookin’ at the two [Two Atoms tab]. 4:14 S2: Yeah. 4:16 S1: So it’s [bond dipole] always gonna be pointing toward the negative. And then what does this [molecular dipole] signify? 4:25 S2: The dipole. I guess that’sI don’t know. 4:30 S1: I don’t know how to explain that. 4:32 S2: Maybe the sum of the two bond dipoles. 4:34 S1: Uh huh. The sequencing of the tabs provided scaffolding to support these students’ efforts to make sense of the challenging concept of molecule polarity; their experience with bond polarity in the “Two Atoms” tab allowed them to progress toward understanding the molecular dipole. The sim provided a range of opportunities for conceptually rich, student-centered activities and discussions. Within this classroom, the teacher leveraged the implicit scaffolding within the sim to allow students to discover and make sense of key relationships and representations. After 10 min of open play, the students were primed to engage in and contribute to discussions around these topicsfacilitated by the teacher and a guided-inquiry activity (see In-Class Student Use section, and

■

TEACHING WITH PHET SIMS PhET sims are designed to support a wide range of teaching needs. They can help address a range of learning goals content, process, and affective goalsand can be incorporated into teacher demos, interactive discussions, in-class activities, laboratories and homework. The design features that support exploration and engagement by students also serve to support the dynamic role of the teacher, providing the unique opportunity to explore and illustrate concepts in response to student questions in real time. In this section, we describe several ways of using the two sims highlighted above based on observations and faculty accounts of sim use, and include example classroom-tested supporting materials in the Supporting Information. In the following descriptions, we focus on the teacher facilitation aspects of sim use; studies have shown improved student learning and engagement when using sims in these types of contexts.15,16 Teacher-Led Sim Use

Sims can be used in a variety of ways in the classroom to discover, demonstrate, communicate, apply, or test an idea. PhET sims provide unique opportunities for teachers to engage students in actively processing and applying the ideas in the sims. In a traditional “Lecture Demo” approach,14,15 the teacher uses a sim that is projected onto a screen. For example, the Molecule Polarity sim’s “Three Atoms” tab can be used to demonstrate that the molecular dipole is the sum of the bond dipoles. The teacher opens the sim with the “Bond Dipole” arrow representation showing. When the molecular dipole is introduced, the teacher adds the “Molecular Dipole” arrow. The teacher can then illustrate various ways to change the bond dipoles, allowing students to visualize the relationship between bond and molecular dipoles. To increase active participation and processing by students, the teacher can use a sim to support an interactive discussion. In a recent classroom use of the Molecule Polarity sim, the teacher asked students “When will a triatomic molecule be polar?” A student responded, “When all the electronegativity values are the same, the atom is non-polar.” To guide the discussion toward investigating bond dipoles, the teacher asked, “What happens when electronegativity values are different?” After students discussed this scenario with their peers, the teacher was able to easily “do the experiment”, leveraging the features of the sim to create the case of differing electronegativity values. This approach could further increase student engagement by asking students to explore the sim on their personal computers, using a guiding question followed by an interactive class discussion. Sims also couple naturally with concept tests administered with personal response systems (“clicker questions”).17 For example, in a recent lecture the Beer’s Law Lab sim “Concentration” tab was used. The teacher asked students “What will happen to the concentration when water is added to double the solution volume−will it increase, decrease, or stay the same?” (Figure 4). After providing time for discussion and recording responses, the teacher increased the solution volume D

dx.doi.org/10.1021/ed4005084 | J. Chem. Educ. XXXX, XXX, XXX−XXX

Journal of Chemical Education

Article

Figure 4. Example clicker question for use with Beer’s Law Lab simulation. Image by PhET Interactive Simulations and used with permission.

by adding water and related the change to the molarity relationship. The teacher could have elicited student reasoning on why the observed behavior occurred, and then have asked how the concentration of the solution changes if the amount of solute is doubled before saturation is reached, and again after saturation is reached. Such discussions help develop students’ ability to solve problems by qualitative reasoning and sense making around chemical processes, instead of relying solely on mathematical formulas. For more tips on writing clicker questions with sims see Supporting Information. For more information about using sims in the classroom, see our video tutorials.18

Figure 5. Example of two Concept Tables from an activity utilizing the Molecule Polarity simulation. Image by PhET Interactive Simulations and used with permission.

Sim Use with Written Guided-Inquiry Activity

In-Class Student Use

Sims are specifically designed to support inquiry-based learning, making them excellent for use with guided-inquiry activities in the lecture class,13 laboratory, and recitations.12 From classroom observations across K−12 and undergraduate classrooms, the PhET group has developed tips for writing activities that complement sims by supporting development of student process skills, content understanding, and affective goals. We recommend the following: • Identifying two to three learning objectives, aligned with the design of the sim, to be addressed by the activity. Activities that attempt to do too much can become overly prescriptive, minimizing opportunities for studentdriven inquiry. • Taking advantage of sim-specific features by structuring questions around interactive components of the sim and utilizing games or challenges designed into the sim. • Keeping the activity worksheets relatively sparse to encourage students to focus on sense making with the sim rather than filling in answers. • Scaffolding students’ understanding through the use of Concept Tables (Figure 5)structured areas that effectively cue students toward discovering and making sense of particular sim features and scenarios. • Avoiding the use of explicit sim use directions: “move slider to the left”. These activity tips aim to encourage the development of activities that guide productive exploration and sense making with the sim, and keep students actively thinking throughout the activity. For examples of guided-inquiry activities designed around PhET sims, see Supporting Information.

In this style of sim use, the teacher (or teaching assistant) asks students to bring their laptops to class (or recitation) to engage in an in-class activity with a sim.13 For tips on successful sim use with student laptops, see Supporting Information. For the example activity described below (included in the Supporting Information), students are in groups with shared computers, and use the Molecule Polarity sim while working through a guided-inquiry activity facilitated by the teacher. The activity has a modular, four-part structure, allowing the flexibility to choose a stopping point and ask students to finish outside of class. Part I of the activity includes a prompt for students to explore the Molecule Polarity sim for 5 minutes. This open exploration time with the sim allows students to find all sim features and to begin asking and answering their own conceptual questions−as in the student transcript example above. Part II of the activity focuses attention on exploration of the representations in the “Two Atoms” tab. Students are asked to explain the ways to change the polarity of the generic two atom molecule, cueing students to find that dif ferences in atom electronegativity affect bond polarity. Through the use of a Concept Table (shown in Figure 5, Concept Table 1), students are cued to connect the various representations in the sim (e.g., bond dipole arrow and partial charge symbols) with their understanding of molecule polarity. The teacher could facilitate a class discussion around group responses to the Concept Table, and highlight or expand on student ideas. Part III of the activity focuses attention on exploring the “Three Atoms” tab, with questions that guide students’ inquiry to include a second factor affecting polaritythe spatial E

dx.doi.org/10.1021/ed4005084 | J. Chem. Educ. XXXX, XXX, XXX−XXX

Journal of Chemical Education

Article

arrangement of atoms. Students are prompted to find new ways to change the polarity of the generic three-atom molecule, and asked how changing the bond angle affects polarity, highlighting the significance of the spatial arrangement of atoms in molecular polarity. Students are then asked to determine the relationship between bond dipoles and molecular dipole. After students have worked on responses to this question, the teacher could facilitate a discussion around student responses, resulting in a group consensus. Next, students are asked a challenge question “Can a non-polar molecule contain polar bonds?” and to use examples to illustrate their ideas. Part IV of the activity provides an opportunity for students to explore molecular polarity in the context of real molecules. With the use of a Concept Table (Figure 5, Concept Table 2), students are cued to predict the bond and molecular polarity of real molecules, and then to check their prediction with the sim.

to covering the topic in class. Or, sims can be used to deepen, reinforce, or extend conceptual understanding of the topic. Questions involving the use of sims can also be incorporated into Learning Management Systems, including multiple-choice questions that allow for automated grading. An example homework assignment using the Beer’s Law Lab sim, including questions appropriate for a Learning Management System, is included in Supporting Information.

■

UPCOMING RESOURCES The PhET Interactive Simulations project continues to develop new interactive sims for chemistry while shifting its sim development to HTML5, a Web browser technology that is compatible with tablets. We are also currently developing a “Teach with PhET” Web site, to accompany the existing PhET Web site. This new Web site will contain detailed professional development materials and resources for teaching with PhET sims, including video tutorials, guidelines and tips for sim use across a range of implementation styles, examples of authentic classroom use, and expanded sim specific teacher guides with video introductions to individual sims.

Laboratory Student Use

Sims can be coupled with laboratory activities to deepen conceptual understanding of experiments and to develop representational competence. Students can be assigned a prelab activity, where they explore a concept prior to conducting related physical experiments in a laboratory setting. Sims can also be used during the laboratory, with physical experimentation coupled with exploration of the sim. In this example, we coupled the Sugar and Salt Solutions sim with a common chemistry labmeasuring the conductivity of different solutions. The activity’s learning goals include the following: supporting students to differentiate between ionic and covalent compounds based on composition and physical behavior, and to represent solutions using chemical formulas and particulate level drawings. The Sugar and Salt Solutions sim (see Supporting Information for a full description) allows students to add ionic and covalently bonded solutes to water, and to observe how each solute dissolves at the macroscopic and particulate levels. In this lab activity, included in Supporting Information, students are first prompted to explore the “Macro” tab of the sim, which shows only what one could observe macroscopically. Students are then prompted (through the use of a Concept Table) to explore whether sugar or salt solutions conduct electricity, to relate this to whether the solute contains ionic or covalent bonds, and to determine how the conductivity changes with solution concentration. Next, students are asked to explore the “Micro” tab of the sim, which shows a particulate level view of the dissolving process. Students are prompted to compare how sugar and salt dissolve in solution, and relate their observations to the presence of ionic or covalent bonds. On the basis of their observations, students are then asked to explain the conductivity results found during exploration of the “Macro” tab. This sim work is then followed by a series of lab experiments, where students test the conductivity of solutions (e.g., sucrose, sodium chloride, and ethanol). Once students complete the lab experiments, they are asked to explore the “Water” tab of the sim, which shows a two-dimensional view of water solvation of sodium chloride and sucrose. On the basis of their experience with the “Water” tab, students are prompted to draw particulate level representations of solutions.

■

CONCLUSION A principal goal of the PhET Interactive Simulations project is to transform the educational environments of both teachers and students. PhET sims are research-based tools for teaching chemistry that support the development of process skills, content learning, and affective goals, in a way that is free, easily accessible, and flexible. In this article, we introduced the PhET project, highlighted two sims for chemistry, and described a range of approaches for integrating PhET sims into classrooms and courses. We hope the examples, guidance, and links provided here will encourage chemistry teachers new to sims to consider ways of implementing PhET sims in their courses, and inspire experienced sim users to continue finding and sharing effective and creative ways of using the sims. Additional supporting materials for sims, including activities submitted by users, are available at our Web site.5

■

ASSOCIATED CONTENT

S Supporting Information *

Table listing a typical undergraduate general chemistry course sequence aligned with existing PhET sims; support for developing clicker questions; tips for encouraging students to bring laptops to class; example activities (in-class, lab, recitation and homework); description of the Sugar and Salt Solutions sim. This material is available via the Internet at http://pubs. acs.org.

■

AUTHOR INFORMATION

Corresponding Author

*E-mail: [email protected]. Notes

The authors declare no competing financial interest.

■

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We thank the PhET team for their contributions and dedication. We also thank participating teachers and students for their contributions to these efforts. This work was supported by the National Science Foundation (DUE-

Homework

Homework assignments can have students investigate a sim discovering trends, ideas, or questionsto prime students prior F

dx.doi.org/10.1021/ed4005084 | J. Chem. Educ. XXXX, XXX, XXX−XXX

Journal of Chemical Education

Article

1226321). Supporting Information materials is by PhET Interaction Simulations and used with permission.

■

REFERENCES

(1) Stieff, M.; Wilensky, U. Connected chemistryincorporating interactive simulations into the chemistry classroom. J. Sci. Educ. Technol. 2003, 12, 285−302. (2) Tasker, R. Using multimedia to visualize the molecular world: Educational theory into practice. In Chemists’ Guide to Effective Teaching; Pienta, N. J., Cooper, M., Greenbowe, T. J., Eds.; Prentice Hall: Upper Saddle River, NJ, 2005; pp 195−211. (3) Falvo, D. Animations and simulations for teaching and learning molecular chemistry. Int. J. Technol. Learn. Teach. 2008, 4, 68−77. (4) Aldahmash, A. H.; Abraham, M. R. Kinetic versus static visuals for facilitating college students’ understanding of organic reaction mechanisms in chemistry. J. Chem. Educ. 2009, 86, 1442−1446. (5) The PhET Interactive Simulations Project. http://phet.colorado. edu (accessed Jun 2014). (6) Plass, J. L.; Milne, C.; Homer, B. D.; Schwartz, R. N.; Hayward, E. O.; Jordan, T.; Verkuilen, J.; Ng, F.; Wang, Y.; Barrientos, J. Investigating the effectiveness of computer simulations for chemistry learning. J. Res. Sci. Teach. 2012, 49, 394−419. (7) Rodrigues, S. Using simulations in science: An exploration of pupil behaviour. In Issues and Challenges in Science Education Research: Moving Forward; Springer: Berlin, 2012; pp 209−223. (8) Podolefsky, N.; Moore, E. B.; Perkins, K. K. Implicit scaffolding in interactive simulations: Design strategies to support multiple educational goals. Available at: http://arxiv.org/abs/1306.6544 (accessed Jun 2014). (9) Clark, R. C.; Mayer, R. E. e-Learning and the Science of Instruction: Proven Guidelines for Consumers and Designers of Multimedia Learning, 3rd ed.; Taff, R., Ed.; Pfeiffer: San Francisco, CA, 2007. (10) Kozma, R.; Russell, J. W. Students becoming chemists: Developing representational competence. In Visualization in Science Education; Springer: Dordrecht, The Netherlands, 2005; pp 121−145. (11) Paul, A.; Podolefsky, N. S.; Perkins, K. K. Guiding without feeling guided: Implicit scaffolding through interactive simulation design. AIP Conf. Proc. 2012, 1513, 302−305. (12) Lancaster, K.; Moore, E. B.; Parson, R.; Perkins, K. K. Insights from using PhET’s design principles for interactive chemistry simulations. In Pedagogic Roles of Animations and Simulations in Chemistry Courses; Suits, J. P., Sanger, M. J., Eds.; ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2005; pp 97− 126. (13) Moore, E. B.; Herzog, T. A.; Perkins, K. K. Interactive simulations as implicit support for guided-inquiry. Chem. Educ. Res. Pract. 2013, 14, 257−268. (14) Barbera, J.; Kowalski-Carlson, L. M. Use of an interactive simulation in the presentation of gas properties: The effect on students’ conceptual learning. Presented at the 237th ACS National Meeting, Salt Lake City, UT, March 22−26, 2009; Paper CHED 31. (15) Finkelstein, N. D.; Adams, W. K.; Keller, C.; Perkins, K. K.; Wieman, C. High-tech tools for teaching physics: The Physics Education Technology project. J. Online Learn. Teach. 2006, 2, 110− 121. (16) Moore, E. B.; Perkins, K. K. Assessing the implicit scaffolding design framework: Effectiveness of the Build a Molecule simulation. Proceedings of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching, Annual International Conference. In Press. (17) Woelk, K. Optimizing the use of personal response devices (clickers) in large-enrollment introductory courses. J. Chem. Educ. 2008, 85, 1400. (18) PhET Interactive Simulations YouTube Channel. https://www. youtube.com/user/PhETInteractiveSims (accessed Jun 2014).

G

dx.doi.org/10.1021/ed4005084 | J. Chem. Educ. XXXX, XXX, XXX−XXX