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Science Teacher Training in an Information Society
Start Teaching with computer models

 USIE

Workshop 1

Introduction
Section A
Activity A1
Activity A2
Section B
Section C
Section D
Section E
Section F
Section G

StartContents

Section A  Exploring current practice

Activity A1  Auditing current practice
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Aims

  • To review how computer simulations and models are used in your existing science curriculum.

Background

Computer modelling and simulations are beginning to be used more in science in schools, but their use is not widespread. Most teachers have used them only occasionally if at all. However, in considering how you might introduce new ideas into the curriculum, it is clearly important to consider what is already there. It may be possible simply to add a new approach to existing approaches, though it may be, for example, that an existing approach needs to be modified to allow a new approach to be incorporated. In this activity you will review how computers in general are used in your existing teaching, and in particular the role of computer models and simulations. 

What to do

1. Look at your schemes of work and identify where ICT is included. What kinds of uses do you make of computers (datalogging, simulations, CD-ROMs for reference material, and so on)? Which are most common?

2.  Are computers being used in others ways which are not included on the schemes of work? Is there a lot of scope for individual initiative? Do different people use ICT to different extents?

3.  How would you judge your hardware resources? Is your main provision in science laboratories or in computer suites? 

4.  What software resources do you have that can be used for computer modelling and simulation? 

5.  What sources of ideas do you have for using or creating computer models and simulations (for example, books of examples of how to build models on spreadsheets)?

 
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