ERIC Number: EJ762136
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2007-Apr
Pages: 13
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0266-4909
EISSN: N/A
Comparing and Combining Real and Virtual Experimentation: An Effort to Enhance Students' Conceptual Understanding of Electric Circuits
Zacharia, Z. C.
Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, v23 n2 p120-132 Apr 2007
The purpose of this study was to investigate value of combining Real Experimentation (RE) with Virtual Experimentation (VE) with respect to changes in students' conceptual understanding of electric circuits. To achieve this, a pre-post comparison study design was used that involved 88 undergraduate students. The participants were randomly assigned to an experimental (45 students) and a control group (43 students). Each group attended a one semester course in physics for preservice elementary school teachers. Both groups used the same inquiry-based curriculum materials. Participants in the control group used RE to conduct the study's experiments, whereas, participants in the experimental group used RE in the first part of the curriculum and VE in another part. Conceptual tests were administered to assess students' understanding of electric circuits before, during and after the teaching intervention. Results indicated that the combination of RE and VE enhanced students' conceptual understanding more than the use of RE alone. A further analysis showed that differences between groups on that part of the curriculum in which the experimental group used VE and the control group RE, in favour of VE.
Descriptors: Undergraduate Students, Experiments, Elementary School Teachers, Preservice Teachers, Matched Groups, Concept Formation, Scientific Concepts, Higher Education, Preservice Teacher Education, Physics, Virtual Classrooms, Computer Simulation, Educational Technology, Computer Assisted Instruction, Comparative Analysis, Student Evaluation, Equipment
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A