Styles of Student Exploration With PhET Interactive Science Simulations

• In Event: Transfer for Learning Outside the Classroom: Informal Contexts to Examine STEM Learning Skills and Strategies

Abstract

PhET interactive computer simulations allow students to independently explore scientific phenomena, trying different situations and changing variables according to their own interests. In this project, we investigated how students use their science inquiry skills to make sense of the science represented in simulations. We also had a particular interest in how students across different ages use these skills in their interactions. We conducted think aloud interviews with 24 students from 7th grade through college. Each student explored two or three PhET simulations for about an hour. We recorded their actions in the simulation as well as their running commentary, and asked them some targeted questions to assess what science they figured out from the simulation.

We found that the way students interacted with the simulations fell into a few general categories: minimal engagement, make observations (try things to see what happens - done in both random and systematic ways), and question/prediction-driven exploration. In the context of open-ended think aloud interviews, most students explored the simulation thoroughly enough to identify the main points that the simulation was designed to teach. However, we observed differences in the completeness and accuracy of conclusions, and in how well students seemed to integrate those conclusions into their overall understanding of the science. Some specific strategies tended to lead students to draw more complete/accurate conclusions, notably setting up explicit comparisons and keeping track of which variables they had modified. Surprisingly, the students’ age didn’t have an apparent impact on their exploration style, but both the student’s perception of the task and the connections they made to prior knowledge clearly impacted their exploration. We found that in general, each student had similar exploration strategies across simulations that they used, though there were exceptions, particularly in cases where a student was able to make connections to prior knowledge in one simulation but not in another.

Authors

• Argenta Price, Stanford University

• Carl Wieman, Stanford University