Epistemological aspects of computational simulations and their approach through educational simulations in high school

Abstract

<jats:p> Computer simulations are currently used in diverse scientific disciplines as well as in science teaching. The simulations proposed for physics teaching are designed for specific purposes and allow studying natural phenomena through exploration and/or modeling. In this work, we present an analysis that, based on the theoretical frame provided by the nature of science (NOS), considers some aspects of present discussions on computer simulations that should be taken into account to promote scientifically literate citizens. We examine different types of simulations used, specifically, in the teaching of physics for high school in the past few years. We also explore some of the current philosophical thoughts on scientific simulations and which of their aspects could become part of the teaching–learning process when using simulations in science teaching—for example, the role of the model in simulations, the relationship between simulations and experimentation, the validity of knowledge resulting from simulations, and the role of animation in relation to the simulation used. Discussing these aspects from the viewpoint of the NOS would provide students with an updated vision of scientific activity so that they could analyze the information they receive daily and, as members of society, take a stand accordingly. </jats:p>

The effect of computer simulations on students’ conceptual and procedural understanding of Newton’s second law of motion

“…Students' conceptual and procedural understanding was enhanced as CSs engaged students through the interactive visual environment in which students had opportunities to interact and actively manipulate the experimental settings. Students manipulated the parameters and used the results of the manipulation to construct new meanings constructively (Couch, 2014;Seoane et al, 2022;Wieman et al, 2010). In addition, this study demonstrated that through the use of CSs, male students improved more in their conceptual understanding than female students.…”

“…Visualization tools, such as computer simulations (CSs), if used in instruction, are likely to facilitate students' understanding and enable them to create or draw their representations (Abdulrahaman et al, 2020;Ariano et al, 2023;Coelho, 2018). Seoane et al (2022) defined CSs as a demonstration of the dynamic behavior of a system according to an approximate mathematical model that is transformed into discrete algorithms to be implemented on a computer. According to Candido et al (2022) and Zacharia and Anderson (2003), using CSs as part of an instructional technique to teach physics' abstract concepts can provide students with the academic tools they need to comprehend these concepts more thoroughly.…”

Computerized agents versus human agents in finding core coalition in glove games

“…34,35 This section presents a more detailed review of these areas and a hybrid model incorporating both modeling approaches. Relevant work to our study is discussed by Seoane et al 36 The authors have analyzed the relationship between simulation and experimentation and the validity of knowledge generated from the performed simulations. Another work, conducted by Liu and Ma, 37 further discusses a different aspect of cooperation.…”