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<\/a>One of the big challenges in the math and science classroom is to make abstract concepts real for your students. Whether we’re talking about how changes in the intercept\u00a0of a line will affect its placement on a graph or how batteries push electricity through a circuit, a lot of imagination is required to make the concept real for the learner. In today’s post, I’d like to share with you one of my favorite online resources<\/a> that not only provides visualizations of science and math concepts, but also allows students to manipulate variables to see how they relate to outcomes.<\/p>\n![\"Here's](\"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Screen-Shot-2014-09-12-at-10.40.46-AM-300x278.png\")
<\/a>Abstract concepts can be very difficult for students to deeply understand. Even though they may be able to describe the forces acting on an object in words, even though they may be able to draw a line based on an equation, that does not necessarily indicate deep understanding, transferability, and generalizability. Going back to some of the learning theory stuff from a couple of weeks ago<\/a>, we need to find ways for students to construct their own understanding\u00a0by interacting their ideas with experiences. When we are dealing with concepts that can be difficult to demonstrate in the physical world, we can turn to simulations to provide that “real-world” interaction that helps students make meaning of content and internalize and personalize concepts.<\/p>\n Whew! That’s a lot of words that boil down to: students benefit from being able to play with stuff.\u00a0And not all stuff can, well, be played with. We can see the effect of electricity, but not the energy inside the battery. We can see pictures of glaciers, but not their motion. We can see water boil, but not the increased motion of the molecules due to the added energy. Good simulations occupy this middle space, between what we can observe on the macro-scale and the abstract concepts that we talk about.<\/p>\n The PhET interactive simulations<\/a>\u00a0have been constructed by many fine folks at the University of Colorado at Boulder<\/a> (Go Buffs!<\/a>). Go ahead and check out that link – click on “Play with sims…” to see all of them<\/a>. Take a few minutes to poke around. There’s… a lot there. As you explore, here’s a few things I’d like to direct your attention to:<\/p>\n The developers\u00a0have been working on these simulations for years now: creating new content, editing existing sims based on teacher feedback, creating differentiated levels within the simulations, and much more. As of right now it does not appear that they have done extensive working linking the simulations to the Next Generation Science Standards<\/a>, but between the “Main Topics” and “Sample Learning Goals,” I feel that the applications to the standards should be moderately straightforward. For example, the different understandings in the \u00a0middle school physical science energy standard<\/a>\u00a0are directly addressed by a couple of different<\/a> sims<\/a>. And those simulations allow students to “Develop models,” “Construct graphical displays,” “Plan investigations,” and many other NGSS-defined tasks. \u00a0Students could even capture their work via screen<\/a> casting<\/a> or screen shots in order to provide evidence of hitting those standards.<\/p>\n I know that there is a lot of material there. I just wanted to take this space to point you towards the resource. If you’re interested in learning more about teaching chemistry specifically with PhET simulations, there is a webinar<\/a> (hosted by AACT<\/a>) coming up on September 23. If you have used these simulations in your classroom, let us know about it in the comments! Also, if you’d like to recommend a specific sim and share resource you have developed for it, you can also post it to our Google+ community<\/a>. (Have you joined our Google+ community yet? You totally should!) Finally, if you’re doing something innovative in your classroom that we could feature here on Science Saturdays, let us know using the form at the bottom\u00a0and I’d love to write about it!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n![\"Below](\"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Screen-Shot-2014-09-12-at-11.17.12-AM-150x150.png\")
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