PERC 2015 Abstract Detail Page
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| Abstract Title: | Benefits of incorporating PhET simulations into pre-class assignments |
|---|---|
| Abstract: | The context for our study is a first-year Physics course. While the course takes place in Canada, all students are international, and this is their first year in an English-speaking institution. Students received pre-class assignments, using a combination of textbook reading and PhET activities, to prepare them for the interactive engagement lectures. The given activities asked students to explore key concepts in the target domain and reflect on their exploration. Results show that students engaged with the simulations productively, even in a homework setting without instructor support. Furthermore, short interaction with the sim was sufficient to improve students' performance from pre- to post-test. Students' attitudes toward exploration remained remarkably stable from the first time that they engaged with one of these combined textbook and PhET pre-class assignments to the second one a couple of months later. |
| Abstract Type: | Contributed Poster Presentation |
Author/Organizer Information | |
| Primary Contact: |
Joss Ives University of British Columbia |
