The Use of Qualitative Modelling and Simulation Tools in
High School Education: an Engineering Study
- Student: Rintse van der Werf
- Onderdeel afstudeerproject: werkstuk (incl. lit. scriptie en stage)
(PDF)
- Afgerond: November 2003
- Begeleiding: Dr. B. Bredeweg
Samenvatting
Recent studies show that learners develop a richer understanding of
phenomena when learning involves the
construction of a graphical representation of their knowledge.
Building such representations helps learners in
externalizing though and thus provides opportunities for expressing,
testing, reflecting, and adjusting
conceptions about the real world. A shared representation also
provided opportunities for discussion of ideas
with peers and therefore cooperation. In this thesis the use of
such a representation method is evaluated in a high
school setting. First, the theory underlying the
model-building method is described. Next, a curriculum is
designed for high school learners cooperatively building
models about the process of osmosis. In this curriculum
learners are given different types of guidance to help them
build their models. The model-building task is
evaluated in terms of learning opportunities that occurred
and practical implications for context of use of the
method. In this context analysis the focus is on the
role of the teachers and the usefulness of specific
forms of guidance.