The Effect of Demonstrative Computer Simulation in Developing Intuition: Accomplishment of Acceleration Concept

Abstract

Abstract The purpose of this study is to see if students can develop the concept of acceleration without presenting the explicit knowledge but by demonstrative simulations instead. The questions to be answered in this study are: i. Can students discriminate between two types of the motion, namely accelerated and constant velocity motion, by estimating the position of the objects at each unit time? ii. Does being exposed to computer animation have a significant effect on discriminating between accelerated and constant velocity motions? iii. Is there a significant relationship between subjects’ science achievement score and their pre and post “Locate the Position” scale results? The accelerated velocity is represented by a free fall of an apple from the tree. The constant velocity is presented by the flight of a bird towards the tree. The students marked the displacements of these two objects at six successive equal time intervals right after a real time demonstration. The simulations were run twice by slowing down the speeds at two stages. The students marked the displacements again after the slow motion demonstrations. Statistical analyses of student responses displayed significant improvements in achievement. Although not all of the students have achieved the expected outcomes many of them may use their experiences gained from simulations to construct more accurate mental models, and to form a bridge between real-world phenomena and scientific formalisms.