Working Collaboratively on Computer Simulations in a PhysicsClassroom SettingChad GrossBuffalo State College, 1300 Elmwood Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14222. E-mail: [email protected] This manuscript discusses how in a physics classroom using a collaborative learning method on computer simulations can help enhance students’ success at tackling physics concepts. One such computer simulation discussed here is the PhET Project from the University of Colorado. Points considered in a collaborative learning environment are classroom management, student choices and responsibility, and the types of questions asked. The success of collaborative leaning is found to be more intrinsic in nature and students feel more competent with discussing those topics taught through collaborative learning.IntroductionFor high school and undergraduate students alike, physics has often been a challenging and sometimes frustrating field of study. Having to deal with abstract scenarios and complicated formulas, traditional lecture and tutorial style classes revert students to memorization. Many students do not think about the meaning of the calculations they are expected to carry out, and they take refuge in memorizing patterns and procedures of calculation (Arons, 1997). Students may still perform well on tests butthat does not mean that conceptual understanding was obtained. 1There are many different ways to teach a discipline such as physics to students, and this manuscript will focus attention on students collaboratively working on computer simulations in efforts to shift more towards interactive learning than traditional lecture.Phet SimulationWith the technology we have today, virtually all high school and college classrooms alike have computers in them. Interactive simulations are a new way to convey scientific ideas and engage students in educational activities (K. K. Perkins, W. Adams, M. Dubson, N. Finkelstein, S. Reid, C. Wieman, and R. LeMaster, 2006). Computer simulations are part of the Physics Education Technology (PhET) project at theUniversity of Colorado (N. D. Finkelstein, K. K. Perkins, W. Adams, P. Kohl, and N. Podolefsky, 2004). These simulations are highly interactive, engaging, and create an open learning environment with animated visual feedback to the user (N. D Finkelstein, et al, 2004). This project has developed approximately forty-five physics simulations [and much more] that include most topics covered in a typical introductory physics sequence (C. J. Keller, N. D. Finkelstein, K. K. Perkins, and S. J. Pollock, 2005). Not limited to physics, the PhET project has also expanded its simulations to mathematics too. In physics, these simulations cover a wide range of topics from kinematics, acceleration and force, to electric circuits, magnetism and gravity. These simulations provide a visual image of a system that can be run by the student in attempts to not only help better their understanding of physics concepts but also the mathematics involved. Through studies and research based on these computer simulations, these simulations have been shown to be as or more effective than their non-computer-based 2counterparts (N. D. Finkelstein, W. K. Adams, C. J. Keller, P. B. Kohl, K. K. Perkins, N. S. Podolefsky, and S. Reid, 2005). ApplicationComputer simulations can be applied in high school physics classrooms through the use of collaborative learning to provide a more interactive engaging environment that may help enrich and/or strengthen conceptual learning among students. Points to consider include when using the method of collaborative learning are: classroom management, student choices and responsibility, and questions asked. Collaborative LearningCooperative learning is studying for the same goal in small groups by helping each other (Gok, T., & Silay, I., 2008). The focus in this case is more of a student-studentinteraction rather than teacher-student interaction. Conversely, a collaborative classroom is one where the instructor serves more as a facilitator of learning and students are active learners (Henry, 2001, as cited in Gosling, 2004). This type of strategy shifts more towards an interactive environment and away from traditional lecture. In this case computer simulations provide the tool for collaborative learning.Classroom ManagementTeachers are constantly looking for ways to improve lessons and making them more engaging and interactive for their students. Although often times a main concern for teachers when making such improvements is classroom management. An example of maintaining a suitable environment for learning when using computer simulations is the amount of guidance provided when eliciting active engagement with collaborative learning. 3Teachers can easily adjust how much exploration they want there students to engage in by use of tutorials. For example, the PhET simulations give students the optionof what apparatuses they want to control. The Circuit Construction Kit (CCK) simulates the behavior of simple electric circuits and provides an open work-space where students can manipulate resistors, light bulbs, wires, batteries, and much more (Finkelstein, N. D., et al, 2005). With these options the CCK provides, the tutorials can guide students to build simple circuits by limiting their use of apparatuses or tutorials can give less instructions that allow students to explore more or even all apparatuses provided by the CCK and have them build more complex circuits. The features that students choose to interact with is directly dependent on and limited by the content of the guidance (Paulson,A., Perkins, K., and Adams, W., 2009). This will limit the amount of freedom to which the student explores in some cases but at the same time the focus is that the student will remain on task and limits the amount of behavioral issues that may occur in any given classroom. At the same time the student remains engaged within the realms of the guidance. Limiting the size of groups to 2 to 4 students can help eliminate some nonessential behavior. Keeping the group size small will allow a higher probability for every student within that group a chance to run the simulation being worked on. This helps reduce the amount of down time for those students not running the simulation and keeping them from being too off task. The teacher in this case can gage how much time they allow a student to operate the simulation before allowing the next
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