Exploring Science and Technology Teachers’ Experiences with Integrating Simulation-Based Learning

Abstract

Science and technology require learners to engage in practical work and inquiry-based learning. In South Africa, schools still need laboratories, textbooks, and equipment for practical work. Considering the above contextual challenges, this paper calls for integrating computer simulation-based learning (SBL) into science and technology education. Very little is known about science and technology teachers’ experiences of simulation-based learning in rural settings. This interpretative study, located at a teacher training institution in South Africa, aimed to explore science and technology teachers’ experiences of integrating simulation-based learning in their teaching. The study was framed within Kolb’s experiential learning theory, which posits that learning is a process of creating knowledge through the transformation of experience. Sixteen practicing teachers enrolled for their honors degree were purposively selected. Data were generated via semi-structured interviews, online interactive discussion forums, and reflective journals. All ethical protocols were observed. NVIVO was used to create tag clouds before thematic analysis could begin. The findings illuminated participant experiences as learning, unlearning, disrupting pedagogies, revisioning best practices in a community of inquiry, and promoting conceptual understanding and spatial visualization. The findings demonstrated an authentic practice of educating and training teachers to integrate SBL into their teaching and the use of SBL in promoting the conceptual understanding and spatial ability of learners in school settings that lack laboratories and functional equipment.