Jan T. van der Veen

The learning effects of computer simulations in science education

This article reviews the (quasi)experimental research of the past decade on the learning effects of computer simulations in science education. The focus is on two questions: how use of computer simulations can enhance traditional education, and how computer simulations are best used in order to improve learning processes and outcomes. We report on studies that investigated computer simulations as a replacement of or enhancement to traditional instruction. In particular, we consider the effects of variations in how information is visualized, how instructional support is provided, and how computer simulations are embedded within the lesson scenario. The reviewed literature provides robust evidence that computer simulations can enhance traditional instruction, especially as far as laboratory activities are concerned. However, in most of this research the use of computer simulations has been approached without consideration of the possible impact of teacher support, the lesson scenario, and the computer simulations place within the curriculum.

Using Shared Workspaces in Higher Education

The use of BSCW shared workspaces in higher education is evaluated by means of a comparison of seven courses in which this environment was used. A number of different functions for which the BSCW environment has been used are identified and the relative success of these functions across the cases is discussed. In addition, the cases are evaluated by means of a model that predicts the chances of acceptance of ICT in an educational setting. Effectiveness for a given task appears to be a prime success factor for using ICT, but an effective tool may fail due to other factors such as ease of use and organizational, socio-cultural or technological obstacles. The particular strength of a shared workspace, for which BSCW is most effective and efficient, is providing a repository for objects of collaborative work. Other types of usage showed mixed results.

Inquiry-Based Whole-Class Teaching with Computer Simulations in Physics

In this study we investigated the pedagogical context of whole-class teaching with computer simulations. We examined relations between the attitudes and learning goals of teachers and their students regarding the use of simulations in whole-class teaching, and how teachers implement these simulations in their teaching practices. We observed lessons presented by 24 physics teachers in which they used computer simulations. Students completed questionnaires about the lesson, and each teacher was interviewed afterwards. These three data sources captured implementation by the teacher, and the learning goals and attitudes of students and their teachers regarding teaching with computer simulations. For each teacher, we calculated an Inquiry-Cycle-Score (ICS) based on the occurrence and order of the inquiry activities of predicting, observing and explaining during teaching, and a Student-Response-Rate (SRR) reflecting the level of active student participation. Statistical analyses revealed positive correlations between the inquiry-based character of the teaching approach and students’ attitudes regarding its contribution to their motivation and insight, a negative correlation between the SRR and the ICS, and a positive correlation between teachers’ attitudes about inquiry-based teaching with computer simulations and learning goal congruence between the teacher and his/her students. This means that active student participation is likely to be lower when the instruction more closely resembles the inquiry cycle, and that teachers with a positive attitude about inquiry-based teaching with computer simulations realize the importance of learning goal congruence.

Team-Based Professional Development Interventions in Higher Education: A Systematic Review

Most professional development activities focus on individual teachers, such as mentoring or the use of portfolios. However, new developments in higher education require teachers to work together in teams more often. Due to these changes, there is a growing need for professional development activities focusing on teams. Therefore, this review study was conducted to provide an overview of what is known about professional development in teams in the context of higher education. A total of 18 articles were reviewed that describe the effects of professional development in teams on teacher attitudes and teacher learning. Furthermore, several factors that can either hinder or support professional development in teams are identified at the individual teacher level, at the team level, and also at the organizational level.

Network Applications for Group-Based Learning: Is More Better?.

Group-based learning is being introduced into many settings in higher education. Is this a sustainable development with respect to the resources required? Under what conditions can group-based learning be applied successfully in distance education and in increasingly flexible campus-based learning? Can networked support facilitate and enrich courses where group-based learning is applied? These questions formed the basis of the motivation for the research project whose main results are presented here. The goals set for the research were the identification of problems associated with the planning, operationalisation, and monitoring of group tasks in group-based learning in higher education, and the identification of networked support options which, in combination with appropriate instructional decisions, have the potential to remedy these problems. The solutions identified were tested in the context of three case studies.

Lab-on-a-Chip: Frontier Science in the Classroom

Lab-on-a-chip technology is brought into the classroom through development of a lesson series with hands-on practicals. Students can discover the principles of microfluidics with different practicals covering laminar flow, micromixing, and droplet generation, as well as trapping and counting beads. A quite affordable novel production technique using scissor-cut and laser-cut lamination sheets is presented, which provides good insight into how scientific lab-on-a-chip devices are produced. In this way high school students can now produce lab-on-a-chip devices using lamination sheets and their own lab-on-a-chip design. We begin with a review of previous reports on the use of lab-on-a-chip technology in classrooms, followed by an overview of the practicals and projects we have developed with student safety in mind. We conclude with an educational scenario and some initial promising results for student learning outcomes.

Investigating an Intervention to Support Computer Simulation Use in Whole-Class Teaching

Going beyond simply measuring the effectiveness of a teaching approach with computer simulations during whole-class science instruction, we investigated the interaction between teachers and their students as well as searched for mechanisms in the pedagogical context related to teachers’ implementation of the intervention. Our quasi-experimental design involved having five teachers teach Newtonian mechanics with computer simulations to parallel classes of their upper secondary students. In the “Accustomed” condition the teacher decided how the lesson would unfold; in the experimental condition the lesson unfolded according to a pattern designed for “Peer Instruction”. We investigated the pedagogical interaction between teachers and their students, which was expected to be affected by the intervention’s support for the teacher as well by the teacher’s support for the students. Learning effects as revealed by gains from pretest to posttest to delayed posttest did not consistently favour either condition. Identified mechanisms occurring in the pedagogical context that could explain our findings include: teacher’s sense of ownership of the lesson, familiarity with the intervention conditions, and resistance to change. Suggestions for future research related to the identified mechanisms are offered.

Bouncing droplets : A classroom experiment to visualize wave-particle duality on the macroscopic level

This study brings a recently discovered macroscopic phenomenon with wave-particle characteristics into the classroom. The system consists of a liquid droplet levitating over a vertically shaken liquid pool. The droplets allow visualization of a wave-particle system in a directly observable way. We show how to interpret this macroscopic phenomenon and how to set up and carry out this experiment. A class of students performed single slit diffraction experiments with droplets. By scoring individual droplet trajectories students find a diffraction pattern. This pilot application in the classroom shows that students can study and discuss the wave-particle nature of the bouncing droplet experiment. The experiment therefore provides a useful opportunity to show wave-particle behavior on the macroscopic level.

Using the Web for Problem-Based Learning

In 1997 we designed an organization theory and design course, People, Technology, and Organization-II. We did evaluate this course intensively. From the evaluations we learned that we had to introduce web support and in 1998 we came to the conclusion that we had to modify this web support system. We think that by now we do have an efficient way to stimulate our students to read theoretical texts that could be of interest for others.