Advertorial
USING ONLINE SIMULATIONS TO FACILITATE ADVANCED STEM EDUCATION DURING HYBRID LEARNING Why do simulations like Gizmos work? Meta-analysis of educational research (Marzano, 1998) identifies several instructional techniques that have a strong positive impact on student achievement. Simulations like ExploreLearning math and science Gizmos bring these powerful and effective instructional techniques to the classroom.
A
s the coronavirus changed the educational landscape earlier this year with little to no notice, schools all over the world were left scrambling to find and implement ways to continue to reach and teach their students. And while there is nothing that can replace the full experience of students working with teachers in the classroom, remote teaching and learning—now, and in some cases the foreseeable future—is currently the go-to standard. But how do you teach STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) subjects, many of which benefit from hands-on, in-class learning, in such an environment? One answer is through interactive simulations. Online interactive simulations such as ExploreLearning Gizmos bring research-proven instructional strategies to life. With Gizmos, teachers supplement and enhance their instruction with powerful interactive visualizations of STEM concepts. These math and science simulations give students the chance to think and act like scientists, engineers, and mathematicians. Whether used in class, or remotely,
26
Term 1 Sep - Dec 2020
Gizmos support the development of critical STEM competencies, including the ability to: 5 Ask questions and define problems 5 Develop and use models 5 Construct explanations and design solutions 5 Analyze and interpret data 5 Engage in discussion
collaboration
and
5 Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information 5 Use mathematics computational thinking
and
Gizmos uses interactive controls, like sliders and movable objects, which allow teachers to set up and run simulations, however many times they want. There is no dangerous or expensive lab equipment to worry about, no paper worksheets to clutter classrooms. Visualizations, screenshots, and graphing tools on these Gizmos help students easily capture and compare results from experiments, while assessment questions and inquirybased lesson plans help teachers provide students with the all tools and feedback they need to explore, discover, and apply new concepts.
Class Time
In findings from over 100 research studies involving 4,000+ experimental/ control group comparisons, the following were all shown to have an average effect size greater than 1 (i.e., a percentile gain of more than 34% in students’ achievement):
1. Representing new knowledge in graphic/nonlinguistic formats Research in cognitive psychology indicates that our brains store knowledge using both words and images; and instruction that targets and engages both has been shown to significantly increase students’ comprehension and retention. The Gizmos in the ExploreLearning library cover hundreds of topics in math and science with interactive visual models. For example, Gizmos help students visualize the flow of current in an electrical circuit they have designed themselves, study the process of triangulation in determining an earthquake’s epicenter, and identify the role of the Sun and Moon in the fluctuation of ocean tides.
