Berta’s Tower: Developing conceptual physics understanding one exploratoid at a time.

Svarovsky, G. N., & Shaffer, D. W. (2006). Berta’s Tower: Developing conceptual physics understanding one exploratoid at a time. Paper presented at the International Conference of the Learning Sciences (ICLS), Bloomington, IN. http://epistemicgames.org/cv/papers/svarovsky_shaffer_icls_paper_2006.pdf

Abstract:

In this paper we describe a study that investigates whether–and how–authentic recreations of engineering practices can help students develop conceptual understanding of physics. We focus on the design-build-test cycle used by professional engineers in simulation-based rapid modeling. In this experiment, middle school students worked for 10 hours to solve engineering design challenges using SodaConstructor–a Java-based microworld–as a simulation environment. As a result of the experiment, students learned about center of mass. Our data further suggest that in the process of simulation-based modeling, rapid iterations of the design-build-test cycle progressively linked students’™ interest in the design activities and understanding of the concept of center of mass. We suggest that these rapid iterations of the design-build-test cycle functioned as exploratoids: short fragments of exploratory action in a microworld that cumulatively develop interest in and understanding of important scientific concepts.