This article aims to analyze the potential of new technologies in the area of green chemistry didactics. When viewed through the lens of systems thinking, the use of these ubiquitous tools can be a driving force for the development of a sustainable world because of their global use and reach. The authors concentrate on flat e-learning platforms,…

Systems thinking is the ability to reason about biological systems in terms of their characteristics and can assist students in developing a coherent understanding of biology. Literature reports about several recommendations regarding teaching systems thinking, while it seems that systems thinking has not reached classroom practice. The main aim…

My dissertation explores how elicited gestures can support 6th grade students' understanding of nonlinear dynamics of complex systems. My hypothesis is that elicited gestures make these patterns salient to the student, who learns about these quantitative dynamics via embodied mechanisms. To elicit these gestures, I designed a computer simulation…

As an instructional tool, models can transform the student experience from the static to the dynamic, the flat to the 3D, and the siloed to the integrated. Few practical resources exist to help instructors transition toward model-based classroom practices. The "Modeling in the Classroom" evidence-based teaching guide provides instructors…

Artificial intelligence research on creative design has led to Structure-Behavior-Function (SBF) models that emphasize functions as abstractions for organizing understanding of physical systems. Empirical studies on understanding complex systems suggest that novice understanding is shallow, typically focusing on their visible structures and…

Representations such as drawings, graphs, and computer simulations, are central to learning and doing science. Furthermore, ongoing success in science learning requires students to build on the representations and associated practices that they are presumed to have learned throughout their schooling career. Without these practices, students have…

For the thirty-sixth year, the Research and Theory Division of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) is sponsoring the publication of these Proceedings. Papers published in this volume were presented at the annual AECT Convention in Anaheim, California. The Proceedings of AECT's Convention are published in two…

Attempting to define the optimal use of educational resources for large numbers of students, a research group at the University of Texas at Austin has adopted a system approach to curriculum development consisting of the following components: content, teacher, student, machine, and media. The first procedural step in the system is to define the…

Over 100 interactive computer programs for use in general and organic chemistry at the University of Texas at Austin have been prepared. The rationale for the programs is based upon the belief that computer-assisted instruction (CAI) can improve education by, among other things, freeing teachers from routine tasks, measuring entry skills,…

For the twenty-eighth year, the Research and Theory Division of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) is sponsoring the publication of these Proceedings. Papers published in this volume were presented at the National AECT Convention in Orlando, Florida. The Proceedings of AECT's Convention are published in two…