 The College Board has joined the American Chemical Society and the National Science Teachers Association in objecting to simulated lab software (e.g. online frog dissections, mixing chemicals) when used to replace in-class, hands-on labs. Read the ACS and NSTA statements and analyze the objections they voice. What evidence can you cite to support or refute their positions?

 Hands-on activities enhance learning significantly at all levels of science education. These activities are usually the basis for a “laboratory” class or laboratory portion of a class. In a hands-on chemistry course, students directly experience laboratory chemicals and their properties, chemical reactions, chemical laboratory apparatus, and chemical laboratory instruments. These activities are essential for learning chemistry.

 Computer simulations have been developed that can mimic laboratory procedures and have the potential to be a useful supplement to these hands-on activities in American classrooms. They are often used as a pre- or post-lab exercise to reinforce the procedural and safety issues of a laboratory experience. However, these simulations, by their very nature, do not involve contact with laboratory chemicals or equipment and thus should not be considered equivalent replacements for hands-on experiences critical to chemistry courses at any level.

 Their policy also includes that academic transcripts should clearly state if the chemical laboratory course is hands –on or simulated. This information needs to be made available to potential employers and academic institutes so they are aware of laboratory experience.

 A school laboratory investigation (also referred to as a lab) is defined as an experience in the laboratory, classroom, or the field that provides students with opportunities to interact directly with natural phenomena or with data collected by others using tools, materials, data collection techniques, and models (NRC 2006, p. 3)

 For science to be taught properly and effectively, labs must be an integral part of the science curriculum.

 Criticism of virtual lab software › Simulations should be used only as supplements to regular labs. › College board has indicated that students may not get Advanced Placement course credit for any courses that substitutes virtual labs for hands-on labs.

 Accuracy of models › Shortage of high quality products that are useful for school learning › The simplified version on systems in controlled situation mat get inaccurate or imprecise perspectives › Educators feel strongly that situational simulations must be followed at some point by real experiences › Young children should first experience thing with their 5 senses rather than on a computer screen.

 Misuse of simulations › Sometimes, simulations are used to teach concepts that could just as easily be demonstrated on paper, with manipulatives, or with real objects. › If students can master the activities of a simulation without actually developing effective problem-solving skills, such applications can actually encourage counterproductive behaviors.

 Compress time › A simulation can make something happen in seconds that normally takes days, months, or longer, so t hat students can cover more variations of the activity in a shorter time. › e.g. growth of a living thing or movement of a glacier

 Slow down processes › A simulation can model processes normally invisible to the human eye because they happen so quickly. › E.g. movement of muscles

 Get students involved › Simulations can capture students’ attention by placing them in charge of things and asking “What would you do?”

 Make experimentation safe › Whenever learning involves physical danger, simulations are the strategy of choice. › Student can experiment with strategies in simulated environments that might result in personal injury to themselves or others in real life.

 Make the impossible possible › Teachers cannot give students access to the resources or situations that simulations can. › E.g. what it would be like walk on the moon

 Save money and other resources › Depending on the subject, a simulated experience may be just as effective a learning experience as an actual experiment is, but at a fraction of the cost.

 Allow repetition with variations › Simulations let students repeat events as many times at hey wish and with unlimited variations.

 Allow observation of complex processes › When many things happen at once, students find it difficult to focus on the operation of individual components. › Simulations can isolate parts of activities and control background noise. › This makes it easier to see what is happening when, later, all the parts come together in the actual activities.

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