Teaching chemistry through online, flipped, or blended classes requires the incorporation of activities that allow students to explore new concepts independently. Technology is frequently leveraged to meet this need. One such option is to use computer simulations to promote active engagement by allowing students to manipulate variables and observe the outcomes. In chemistry, these simulations can also help students to make connections between the behavior of particles (something students cannot physically observe) and macroscopic observations or the symbolic level used to convey chemical meaning. Though there has been substantial research on the effective use of simulations in a class or lab setting, there has been less focus on effectively supporting students’ independent use of such simulations outside of the classroom. This poster will examine the efficacy of two different active learning approaches to students independently using a simulation to construct understanding of core ideas in kinetics. Analysis indicates that though both guided instructions and a screencast (a video involving expert narration of the simulation usage) led to learning gains, the students using the screencast achieved the same learning gains in a shorter self-reported time. Further, eye-tracking studies were conducted to similarities and differences in how students used each of the two treatment methods. <br/>

Helping students construct understanding of kinetics with an online simulation

2019 Spring National Meeting

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.