Fostering elementary school students' understanding of simple electricity by combining simulation and laboratory activities.

Computer simulations and laboratory activities have been traditionally treated as substitute or competing methods in science teaching. The aim of this experimental study was to investigate if it would be more beneficial to combine simulation and laboratory activities than to use them separately in t...

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Publicado en:Journal of Computer Assisted Learning Vol. 24; no. 4; pp. 271 - 284
Autores principales: Jaakkola T, Nurmi S
Formato: pictorial research tables/charts Journal Article
Publicado: Wiley-Blackwell Aug2008
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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        10.1111/j.1365-2729.2007.00259.x
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        atl: Fostering elementary school students' understanding of simple electricity by combining simulation and laboratory activities.
      aug:
        au:
          Jaakkola T
          Nurmi S
        affil: Educational Technology Unit, University of Turku, 20014-University of Turku, Finland; tomi. jaakkola@utu.fi
      sug:
        subj:
          Computer-Assisted Instruction In Infancy and Childhood
          Computer Simulation In Infancy and Childhood
          Electricity Education
          Achievement Tests
          Chi Square Test
          Child
          Female
          Finland
          Interviews
          Male
          McNemar's Test
          Outcomes of Education
          Pretest-Posttest Design
          Qualitative Studies
          Schools, Elementary
          Students, Elementary
          Human
          Child: 6-12 years
          Female
          Male
      ab: Computer simulations and laboratory activities have been traditionally treated as substitute or competing methods in science teaching. The aim of this experimental study was to investigate if it would be more beneficial to combine simulation and laboratory activities than to use them separately in teaching the concepts of simple electricity. Based on their pre-test performances, 66 elementary school students were placed into three different learning environments: computer simulation, laboratory exercise and a simulation-laboratory combination. The results showed that the simulation-laboratory combination environment led to statistically greater learning gains than the use of either simulation or laboratory activities alone, and it also promoted students' conceptual understanding most efficiently. There were no statistical differences between simulation and laboratory environments. The results highlight the benefits of using simulation along with hands-on laboratory activities to promote students' understanding of electricity. A simulation can help students to first understand the theoretical principles of electricity; however, in order to promote conceptual change, it is necessary to challenge further students' intuitive conceptions by demonstrating through testing that the laws and principles that are discovered through a simulation also apply in reality.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype:
        pictorial
        research
        tables/charts
        Journal Article
      ougenre: Article
    language: English
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