good-practice-in-science-teaching-what-research-has-to-say

TECHNOLOGY-MEDIATED LEARNING 163
science. A wide range of simulation software has been developed and, in addition
to software available to purchase, there are many free simulations on the
web. Typically, such software incorporates an underlying model that is hidden
in the program code and the students can change the values of the variables
in the model. They then run the model as a simulation and view the output,
usually as a graph, although some software provides animations as output.
As mentioned earlier, there is some strong evidence that uses of simulations
can improve understanding of science beyond that achieved by other means
(Hogarth et al., 2006). The evidence for why and how some simulations enable
science learning will be examined in detail. To do this it is necessary to consider
not just the technologies themselves but also the learning environment and
pedagogy because evidence from many studies suggests that the identification
of the learning needs by the teacher, and the choice of simulation software and
how it is integrated into the learning environment, are all crucially important
to the learning outcomes (Webb, 2005).
Supporting conceptual challenges in science learning through
exploring simulations
Evidence from experimental studies suggests that achievement can be improved
by integrating simulations into topics that students find conceptually
difficult (Webb, 2005). Focusing on specific areas of difficulty and addressing
these with carefully designed tasks, either with ICT-based simulations or without
ICT, may lead to productive learning (Webb, 2005). Studies have suggested
that using simulation software may enable cognitive change in a range of topics
including the particulate nature of matter (Snir et al., 2003), mechanics (Tao
and Gunstone, 1999), understanding of image formation by lenses (Tao, 2004),
genetics (Soderberg and Price, 2003) and trajectory motion (Jimoyiannis
and Komis, 2001). In this section some of these studies are reviewed as examples
to examine the ways in which using simulations may enable learning.
Computer simulations of experiments can easily be integrated as short
episodes without changing curricula. For example, Huppert et al. (2002) found
that using a computer simulation program, ‘The Growth Curve of Microorganisms’
within a biology course for 10th-grade students (aged 15–16) in Israel
did have a significant positive effect on their achievement. In this experimental
study involving 181 students, the two groups of students received the same
teaching and laboratory practical work but the experimental group also used
computer simulations to perform experiments. The two groups spent the same
time on this topic. In the classroom, students were taught the characteristics
of the micro-organisms, their structure, the life processes, and their uses in
daily life in industry and medicine. They studied population growth characteristics:
that is the generation time; lag phase and the exponential phase of
the micro-organisms’ growth. In the laboratory work, students examined yeast
cells under a light microscope as representatives of unicellular organisms. They
studied their reproduction, learned how to count cells on a haemocytometer,