How can you use simulations to increase your students' engagement?

I understand that simulations can offer many benefits for students' learning, including increased interest, critical thinking, collaboration, metacognition, and meaningful feedback. By providing students with realistic and relevant problems, simulations can challenge them to analyze, evaluate, and synthesize information and actions. Additionally, simulations can encourage teamwork, communication, and self-reflection, making them a valuable tool for enhancing the learning experience.

You don't know chemistry, until you get your hands wet. Science is like driving a car. You can talk about it, you can show movies, you can listen to lectures... but until you put your hands on the wheel you can't learn it. So how do you let students do real science in virtual classrooms? How do we support those students who have a career, three kids, complicated lives and just don't have time to drive to campus for afternoon 5-6 hour lab experiments? Real experiments with virtual equipment are safer, lower in cost, and give students the opportunity to wrestle with real principles and techniques so as to master and make them their own. But the most important benefit of simulated experiments is they are accessible to more students.

To design effective simulations, I focus on aligning the simulation with the learning objectives and assessment standards. I consider the target audience's prior knowledge, skills, interests, and needs to create a simulation that meets their diverse learning styles and preferences. I provide context and purpose for the simulation, as well as roles and tasks for students. I include multimedia, interactivity, and feedback to create a realistic and engaging experience. I evaluate the effectiveness and impact of the simulation by collecting data on students' learning outcomes and satisfaction. With this information, I can improve my simulation design and practice.

Simulations need to be centered around something that is realistic. A great example of this is simulations in an OBHR classroom. Having students make decisions for a company and simulating outcomes shows them the impact of their decisions.

Why do we do experiments? We do them for the same reason we turn over an unusual rock in our hand. To see it from different angles, find it's limits and properties, and understand it. When you design an experiment in the lab you always start with a question. Then introduce the tools and principles applicable. Before outlining an experience by which the student can exercise their understanding, apply the principles, and discover a real outcome they can evaluate by comparison to literature or other students results. You do the same online. You just use a virtual pH meter or simulated IR spectrophotometer. You give them the same real experiments you would in the lab, just with virtual tools and materials.

I find that integrating simulations into my flipped classroom has been a valuable way to enhance student engagement and learning. By assigning simulations to students before class, I can effectively introduce new topics, activate their prior knowledge, and prepare them for more in-depth discussions and activities during class time. Simulations provide an excellent opportunity for students to apply their understanding of concepts in a hands-on, interactive setting, fostering deeper comprehension and retention. Additionally, utilizing simulations during class time allows me to facilitate collaborative learning experiences, as students work together to analyze, evaluate, and synthesize information.

You can't be it until you see it. You cannot understand those models on the chalkboard until you apply them to real problems. Your flipped classroom starts with engaging students with an interesting or counter intuitive puzzle. You lay out the explorations, investigations, and discoveries of a previous generation. Then you challenge students to work through new puzzles that can be solved with those fundamental tools. Simple puzzles in online homework and complex multi-layer ones in a virtual laboratory. Those online experiments can be done individually (developing resilience and confidence) or in groups (cultivating community and shared experience)—but this should be a end of week activity. Not a first exposure, but a proving ground.

Supporting students' self-regulation in simulations is crucial for their academic success and independent learning. To effectively assist students in developing their self-regulation skills, I implement various strategies that promote autonomy, responsibility, and metacognition. I establish clear and specific objectives and expectations for each simulation, ensuring that students understand the purpose of the activity and the desired learning outcomes. This provides a clear framework for students to navigate the simulation and set their own goals.

Para encontrar recursos digitais, seja simula??es ou quaisquer outros virtuais, pode-se apoiar em divulga??es dos grupos de estudos e de especialistas na área. No Brasil temos a Comunidade TE & TI Partners, na qual fa?o parte como membro especialista em TE. Os membros s?o ativos e de diversas escolas pelo país, todos apoiando uns aos outros com suas práticas. Também podemos contar com o repositório de REDs (Recursos Educacionais Digitais) compilado pelo governo e alimentado por grandes universidades.

As an educator, I find that simulation tools and resources offer a valuable way to enhance student engagement and learning. To effectively integrate simulations into my practice, I carefully consider various factors when selecting appropriate tools. Firstly, I ensure that the chosen tool is compatible with my devices, platforms, and browsers to guarantee seamless integration into my teaching environment. Secondly, I evaluate the quality and credibility of the content, design, functionality, and feedback to ensure that students are exposed to accurate and engaging learning experiences. Additionally, I assess the flexibility and customization of the tool to tailor simulations to specific learning objectives and student needs.

When life doesn't give you what you need—build it. Reuse exceptional sims from PhET and other great online archives, but the best person to build a simulation for your class is you. I recently saw a sim of a PES spectrophotometer done entirely in excel. Object oriented libraries for JavaScript and high level languages like Python make coding the simulation you imagine possible. Take a weekend and explore. You don't need to replace all your in person labs in one pass. Just make one good simulation and include it in next semesters course. Then iterate and expand the following semester. You started teaching because you love your science. Give yourself the gift of having fun with it. And then share what you build.

The only thing more daunting than the cost of education is the cost of ignorance. We need to bring important learning to more students, including those who simply cannot afford the time, dollars, and opportunity-cost of higher education in it's current form. What comes next is unknown. But like the model-T, the first electric light, or cell phone... you can see that a certain path lies through the rough form of what is currently online education. Simulation and virtual labs will be a fundamental component of the future of education. The efficiency, accessibility, reusability, popularity, and cost-effectiveness make this path undeniable. We know where we're going. We just need to work on how we will get there.