Examining the Use of PhET Simulations on Students’ Attitudes and Learning in General Chemistry II

Issa I Salame,Jana Makki

doi:10.21601/ijese/10966

Abstract

Chemistry is considered difficult to students to learn because many of its concepts are abstract in nature and require visualization at the sub-microscopic level of representation. Physics Education Technology (PhET) offers students the ability to understand and relate both chemical systems and what is happening at the sub-microscopic level through dynamic visualization. Simulations like PhET can be used as a powerful transformative tool for the teaching and learning of science. The research design and paradigm goal is to investigate the students’ perceptions on the impact of PhET simulations on their learning and attitudes and to identify PhET’s most helpful features. The data gathering tool in this research project is a survey that comprised of Likert-type and open-ended questions that was handed out to students who have completed General Chemistry II and were acquainted with PhET simulations as part of their laboratory sessions. The research took place at the City College of New York, an urban, minority serving, and public college. The number of research participants is 158. The implications of the research findings are PhET interactive simulations have an overall positive impact on students’ attitudes and perceptions about learning, PhET simulations promote students’ development of conceptual understanding of chemistry concepts and content, PhET simulations seem to promote and facilitate learning and understanding of abstract concepts, and PhET simulations furnish learning opportunities that otherwise cannot be attained in a traditional laboratory setting. The data presented in this paper support the notion that there is a need to update and modify general chemistry laboratories to reflect emerging technologies such as PhET interactive simulations.

Highlights

Laboratory experiences have continuously provided students with opportunities to interact directly with the material world through the use of various tools, models, equipment, and theories
The results presented in Table 1 suggest the students perceptions of Physics Education Technology (PhET) simulations is that they overall agree that PhET labs helped them better understand concepts covered in lecture, made covered content makes more sense than it did before the simulation, promoted their understanding of the topics covered after the PhET simulations, and facilitated their understanding of chemistry and how it works
Students seem to agree that PhET simulations were clear and easy to follow, and provided a fun learning experience, gave new learning opportunities that were absent in traditional laboratory settings, improved conceptual understanding, contributed to grade improvement, and was an overall positive learning experience

Summary

Introduction

Laboratory experiences have continuously provided students with opportunities to interact directly with the material world through the use of various tools, models, equipment, and theories. One way is through physical manipulation such as dissections in biology, chemistry experiments, and other real-world materials that can be effected through hands on experimentation. Another is the use of simulations through computerized models that allow for interactions unlikely to be observed firsthand to be analyzed (Lunetta, 1998). Examples of such includes interactive biotechniques laboratories, observing molecules in chemistry, plant or animal systems. Laboratories have long been deemed necessary in order to develop a deeper understanding of science and skills when it comes to the nature of science (NRC 2006, P. 127)

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