Computer simulations can facilitate the building of models of natural phenomena in research, such as in the molecular life sciences. In order to introduce molecular life science students to the use of computer simulations for model building, a digital case was developed in which students build a model of a pattern formation process in…

Educators who are prepared to make use of CSCL can find themselves restricted in their space for maneuvering regarding educational innovation. As a supportive context can be very important for them, the study presented here describes and analyzes a related case of a Community of Practice (CoP) among tutors contributing to the development and…

Sixty-three college students worked with a computer simulation in which gradually increasing model complexity (model progression), model progression plus small assignments, or a control condition without either were used. Definition knowledge increased for all three conditions, but intuitive knowledge gain was greater for the two experimental…

In two experiments, we found that college students' pronunciations of vowels in nonwords are influenced both by preceding and following consonants. The predominance of rimes in previous studies of reading does not appear to arise because readers are unable to pick up associations that cross the onset-rime boundary, but rather because English has…

To enhance the learning outcomes achieved by students, learners undertook a computer-simulated activity based on an acid-base titration prior to a university-level chemistry laboratory activity. Students were categorized with respect to their attitudes toward learning. During the laboratory exercise, questions that students asked their assistant…

This study investigated the effects of self-generated questions and external questions on thinking processes. Thirty-three college students acted as investigators in a computer simulation of a Congressional investigation into the Pearl Harbor attack. The simulation--known as "The Attack on Pearl Harbor: Cloud of Mystery?"--presented the…

Discusses the nature of current college history students and explains why microcomputer simulations aid their learning of history. Concludes that students vary in their view of simulations, and that even good simulations are no substitute for an informed, thoughtful, and sensitive teacher. (JDH)

This article summarizes seven currently available microcomputer simulations for history. The seven included are: Government Simulations (Prentice-Hall, 1984), Nomination (Brady Company, 1984), Tigers in the Snow (Strategic Simulations, 1981), Lincoln's Decisions (Educational Activities, 1982), Watergate Simulation (Social Science Research and…

Reviews TIGERS IN THE SNOW: THE BATTLE OF THE BULGE (Strategic Simulations),and the BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG (Softwride). Each narrative review describes the hardware required and provides complete ordering information. (JDH)

In many business courses, computer-based simulations are becoming a popular choice of pedagogical technique, yet research is only beginning to consider how these simulation games impact student outcomes. In this study, the author investigated individual perceptions of simulation team dynamics and their relationship to student affect regarding the…

This study presents an application of a measure of learner involvement developed by Paas, Tuovinen, van Merrienboer, and Darabi (2005). These authors combined learners' performance scores with their perceived mental effort invested in instruction and used it to assess learner involvement in instructional conditions. The present study examines the…

The aim of the 2018 International Association for Development of the Information Society (IADIS) Cognition and Exploratory Learning in the Digital Age (CELDA) conference was to address the main issues concerned with evolving learning processes and supporting pedagogies and applications in the digital age. There have been advances in both cognitive…

This paper presents a summary of action research investigating statistics students' understandings of the sampling distribution of the mean. With four sections of an introductory Statistics in Education course (n=98 students), a computer simulation activity (R. delMas, J. Garfield, and B. Chance, 1999) was implemented and evaluated to show…

Examines computer based simulations of practical laboratory experiments in engineering. Discusses the aims and achievements of lab work (cognitive, process, psychomotor, and affective); types of simulations (model building and behavioral); and the strengths and weaknesses of simulations. Describes the development of a centrifugal pump simulation,…

Developed Computerized Counseling Simulation, simulation of client-counselor interaction. Tested simulation on seven groups with varying degrees of counseling experience: counselors, predoctoral counseling interns, counseling students, first-year counseling students, student peer counselors, undergraduates, and noncounselors (total n=108). Interns…