How to Get Real: The Authenticity of Computer-Based Science Labs

• In Event: Poster Session 4
  In Poster Session: Science Curriculum and Instructional Interventions

Abstract

Science learning often requires students to engage in hands-on inquiry tasks; however, equipment is not always available in schools. Simulations and remote labs attempt to recreate hands-on science learning via computer. We compared the perceived authenticity and learning outcomes elicited by remote labs and simulated equivalents, and examined how the realism of visualizations incorporated into the interface enhanced the authenticity of the experience. Undergraduates used either a remote lab or a simulation incorporating one of two photorealistic visualizations: a static image or a video feed of the equipment. Remote lab users were more likely to feel that they had completed an actual science experiment than were simulation users. However, more realistic visualizations improved perceived authenticity for simulation users.

Authors

• Megan Sauter, Northwestern University

• Michael Downing, Northwestern University

• Kemi Jona, Northwestern University

• David Henry Uttal, Northwestern University

• David Rapp, Northwestern University