Interactive simulations allow students to independently explore scientific phenomena and ideally infer the underlying principles through their exploration. Effectively using such environments is challenging for many students and therefore, adaptive guidance has the potential to improve student learning. Providing effective support is, however,…

Interactive simulations allow students to discover the underlying principles of a scientific phenomenon through their own exploration. Unfortunately, students often struggle to learn effectively in these environments. Classifying students' interaction data in the simulations based on their expected performance has the potential to enable adaptive…

The switch to online learning required a creative solution to allow for the experiential learning outcomes of the program to be satisfied when access to physical spaces and equipment was restricted. This paper describes a collaborative process between technical and support staff as well as research and teaching faculty that led to the creation of…

The damped harmonic oscillator physics problem is a standard oscillation problem in calculus physics for pre-engineering students in a community college. The use of alternative linear algebra eigenvalue stability method is consistent with the upper engineering courses using control theory. The external force and friction damping would become the…

Applying physical principles is important for designs of various products with tailored performances. However, one of the long-standing issues of the students' design projects (or school's interdisciplinary projects) is the post-hoc imposition of the knowledge learned in their content subjects. This post-hoc imposition significantly diminishes the…

Fluid Mechanics is one of the most complex branches of science to learn. Traditionally, it has been taught from a positivism point of view. However, the latest technologies have led to the creation of new educational tools based on a constructivism approach as a complement to conventional teaching. This paper addresses the development of a course…

Studies comparing virtual and physical manipulative environments (VME and PME) in inquiry-based science learning have mostly focused on students' learning outcomes but not on the actual processes they engage in during the learning activities. In this paper, we examined experimentation strategies in an inquiry activity and their relation to…

The nature of qualitative understanding and associated learning processes in the context of a computer simulation called the "Envisioning Machine" (EM) are investigated. The questions focused on in this paper include the following: What sorts of knowledge do students' construct? What role does prior knowledge play in the construction of…

An Open University project was planned to develop a set of computer assisted learning (CAL) microcomputer programs for a second level, summer school physics course, scheduled to begin in 1982. Major project aims were the development of an underlying system to effectively use medium resolution graphics with a simple animation capability;…

The purpose of this study was to examine Edward Lorenz's psychological processes and other environmental aspects in the discovery of chaos at that time. The general concept of chaos is discussed based on relations with previous scientific theories such as Newtonian physics and quantum mechanics. The constraints of discovery in terms of available…

The limited language capability of CAI systems has made it difficult to personalize problem-solving instruction. The intelligent tutoring system, ALBERT, is a problem-solving monitor and coach that has been used with high school and college level physics students for several years; it uses a natural language system to understand kinematics…

Discussion of the use of computers in education focuses on ways to teach with limited computer resources. Learning processes with computers are described, the teacher-student relationship is examined, and examples of instruction using only one computer are given, including simulation programs in physics and the use of spreadsheets in mathematics.…