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

 USIE

Workshop 1

Introduction
Section A
Section B
Section C
Section D
Section E
Activity E1
Section F
Section G

StartContents

Section E  Transformations: values

Activity E1  Computer modelling and values (cont.)
Page 2 of 2
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Stories

A  I am concerned about the use of computer models because I think that it is essential that pupils get first hand experiences of the physical world. This is what understanding science is all about. Simulations give the impression to pupils that it is easy to manipulate variables and to discover relationships. In reality it is very difficult to carry out experiments on the real world, and I think computers don’t help pupils in appreciating this.

B  In my teaching my aim is to give pupils a basic understanding of science so that they can understand the world around them and how it affects their own lives. Learning science is about learning a body of concepts and theories. We all know how difficult it is for pupils to learn concepts, and if computer simulations can help pupils to get a better understanding of these, then I think they are very valuable. 

C  It is essential that pupils learn about how science is carried out and what scientists actually do. They should get an opportunity to carry out investigations themselves so that they can have the experience themselves of ‘being a scientist’. All scientists now use computers as part of their day-to-day work, and computer modelling is part of what science is about. So if pupils don’t use simulations and computer models, they don’t really understand modern science.

D  What I want my pupils to understand is the process of science and how people make and test out theories. Science has always been like this, but computers now allow pupils to understand this better. They can see how models can be created and how they can be tested to see if they account for the data. What is important is that they can understand how the science has gone into the model. They can see that it can be expressed mathematically and that this relates to what actually happens in reality.

E  Science is an essential part of the curriculum because it has its own unique way of looking at the world. So I think it has an important role to play in providing a context for learning computer modelling skills. I’m thinking of things like how different kinds of formulae behave or how to interpret the shape of a graph. Doing this on a computer also helps with learning about programming techniques, like iteration for example. These could be learnt abstractly, but it is more worthwhile if they are learnt in a context.


 
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