![]() Give open-ended questions and challenges. The questions avoids telling students how to complete each challenge, which include qualitative conceptual investigation, and collecting data and examining relationships 3. Avoid explicit directions.Įxcerpts from a homework using Electric Field Hockey and Charges and Fields. Eliminating any explicit instructions on how to use the simulation often helps to keep the questions concise. Longer homework questions can lead lead to a focus on just ‘getting through’ the questions. Keep your questions short, focused on just one or two learning goals. How do I get my students to explore productively in a PhET-based homework? 1. It’s best to include at least a few short essay questions which require students to explain their reasoning. For example, “select all of the actions which will result in X,” or “If I do X, will Y increase/decrease/stay the same?” If you can embed images in your questions, you can show a specific simulation scenario and ask students to predict behavior or interpret the scenario. At the University of Colorado, we have used a combination of conceptual multiple choice, true-false, and numeric answer questions. This situation doesn’t preclude the use of simulations, but does require being creative with homework questions. ![]() With auto-graded homeworkįor very large classes, it is often necessary to auto-grade homework. See the next section for suggestions on writing homework questions which support this kind of reasoning. PhET can be used after lecture, or after a lab, to support conceptual reasoning about the science. PhET can also be used to prepare students for a laboratory activity - see our recommendation on using PhET in a lab setting. Student exploration can then be used as a foundation for discussion in class - as in Just in Time Teaching, especially when PhET is used within the lecture itself. You can use PhET simulations to elicit student ideas about a phenomenon, and get them to start developing a framework of ideas about what is important - for example, in projectile motion. You can find example homework problems on the PhET website, under each simulation page, and on our Teaching Resources page.Ī series of challenging true/false questions (based on common student ideas voiced in class) using the Neon Light and Discharge Lamp simulation Prior to instruction - Eliciting ideas Thus, PhET is ideal for use in homework, and homework using PhET can use minimal directions, due to the implicit guidance in the sims. To accomplish this, simulations are designed to cue students to explore productively by using implicit guidance i.e., the choice of controls, visual representations, and immediate feedback provided by visual changes as students explore ( Paul, Podolefsky, and Perkins 2012 Podolefsky, Moore, and Perkins 2014 Moore, Herzog, and Perkins 2013). This is because PhET simulations are designed to help students explore cause-and-effect relationships and make sense of what they see. Click here to see all Expert Recommendations on the use of PhET.Įven without an instructor present to guide them, students can engage in scientist-like exploration using PhET. This page discusses the use of PhET in homework. This can be done in two main ways: In class or lab environment, or on their own in homework problems. The impact of these demonstrations is greatly increased when students are given the opportunity to interact with the simulations. PhET simulations are free, online interactive simulations for teaching and learning science.
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