tools for teaching chemistry - sam / ri-itestri-itest.concord.org/pubs/neact-2010.pdf · 2019. 2....

Tools for Teaching Chemistry

“

Dan DamelinNEACT Summer Conference

August 9, 2010

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

• is a nonprofit educational research and development organization based in Concord, Massachusetts.

• creates interactive materials that leverage the power of information technologies.

• has a goal to improve learning opportunities for ALL students.

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Range of Tools

• Tools for Students• Probeware• Data analysis tools• Multimedia animations and video• Interactive dynamic models

• Tools for Teachers• Collections of digital materials• Online course management systems• Hardware that facilitates

communication and interaction

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Probeware• Concord Consortium founder

Bob Tinker pioneered early work in this area.

• Vernier

• PASCO

• Natural Chemistry - Lab Aids

• DIY - http://itsi.concord.org/share/workshop4/

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Probeware• Concord Consortium founder

Bob Tinker pioneered early work in this area.

• Vernier

• PASCO

• Natural Chemistry - Lab Aids

• DIY - http://itsi.concord.org/share/workshop4/

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Probeware• Concord Consortium founder

Bob Tinker pioneered early work in this area.

• Vernier

• PASCO

• Natural Chemistry - Lab Aids

• DIY - http://itsi.concord.org/share/workshop4/

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Probeware• Concord Consortium founder

Bob Tinker pioneered early work in this area.

• Vernier

• PASCO

• Natural Chemistry - Lab Aids

• DIY - http://itsi.concord.org/share/workshop4/

!!

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Why are probes valuable tools?

• displays immediately data that one normally can’t see with another device (sonar ranger displays velocity and acceleration)

• collects data faster than normal devices (sometimes over thousands of times per second)

• records and displays data collected over long periods of time (some even up to a year)

• displays simultaneously on the same graph combines the collection from multiple probes

• uses the results of two or more different probes to provide a derived display (for example, electrical power being displayed from data collected from a voltage and current probe)

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Data Analysis Tools• Spreadsheet Programs - Excel, OpenOffice

• Vernier - Graphical Analysis

• PASCO - DataStudio

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Models and Simulations

• Dynamic Molecular Modeling

• 3D Interactive Models

• Simulations of Macro Level Lab Experience

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Static attempt at teaching phase change

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Ideal Learning Environment

• Dynamic nature of atomic/molecular systems not easily conveyed with text and static images.

• Animations help, but don’t allow students to construct knowledge. Student is passive learner.

• Models which are computed in real-time allow users to probe the simulation by changing parameters. Student becomes an active learner.

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

The Modeling Environment:Molecular Workbench – a molecular dynamics tool.

• Open-source cross-platform molecular dynamic engine.

• Calculates complex real-time interactions between atoms and molecules.

• User friendly interface for creating custom model-based activities.

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Using models to teach phase change

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Other reasons to like models

• Help to provide a concrete scaffold for new abstract concepts.

• Can be used in guided inquiry mode.

• Promotes reasoning and supporting ideas with evidence.

• Can link to macro-scale phenomena.

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

A Couple of Quotes“A concise summary of the last 100 years of science is that atoms and molecules are 85% of physics, 100% of chemistry and 90% of modern molecular biology.”

- Leon Lederman

“... all things are made of atoms — little particles that move around in perpetual motion, attracting each other when they are a little distance apart, but repelling upon being squeezed into one another.”

- Richard Feynman

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Variety of Models• 2D and 3D

Molecular Dynamics Models

• 3D Exploration of Static Molecular Representation

• Abstract dynamic models of DNA, RNA and proteins

• Flash based models

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Variety of Models• 2D and 3D

Molecular Dynamics Models

• 3D Exploration of Static Molecular Representation

• Abstract dynamic models of DNA, RNA and proteins

• Flash based models

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Variety of Models• 2D and 3D

Molecular Dynamics Models

• 3D Exploration of Static Molecular Representation

• Abstract dynamic models of DNA, RNA and proteins

• Flash based models

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Variety of Models• 2D and 3D

Molecular Dynamics Models

• 3D Exploration of Static Molecular Representation

• Abstract dynamic models of DNA, RNA and proteins

• Flash based models

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Variety of Models• 2D and 3D

Molecular Dynamics Models

• 3D Exploration of Static Molecular Representation

• Abstract dynamic models of DNA, RNA and proteins

• Flash based models

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Variety of Models• 2D and 3D

Molecular Dynamics Models

• 3D Exploration of Static Molecular Representation

• Abstract dynamic models of DNA, RNA and proteins

• Flash based models

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Phys/Chem - Spectroscopy

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Chemistry - Chemical Reactions

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Biology - Diffusion, Osmosis, and Active Transport

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Chem/Bio - Intermolecular Attractions

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Other Resources for 3D Models

• Molecules in Motion - http://www.moleculesinmotion.com/

• http://MolViz.org

• http://wiki.jmol.org/index.php/Websites_Using_Jmol

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Other Model Platforms

• NetLogo: http://ccl.northwestern.edu/netlogo

• Virtual Chem Lab:• http://www.chemcollective.org/ • Simulates Solution Chemistry at

Macro-level.• Used to supplement wet-lab

• More experiments quickly• No safety issue for some labs that

include dangerous chemicals.

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

• Going deeper can simplify science• Most scientific phenomena can be explained by fundamental ideas of the atomic nature of matter, conservation of energy, Nature’s tendency toward equilibrium.

• Science through this lens is more connected - less individual facts to “memorize”.

• Conceptual understanding is the goal.

• Utilize interactive models, to allow inquiry at the atomic level.

• Teachers are essential for inquiry approach to work.

Inquiry Is Key

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Research Findings

• Modeling software that is sufficiently flexible and thoughtfully applied results in deep learning.

• Interactivity creates the rich, highly associated mental network of concepts that we know contributes to lasting understanding.

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Research Findings

• Interactive models are visually engaging in a way that makes them accessible to students with different learning styles.

• Student explorations can lead to an understanding of connections between atomic-scale events and those events that they can observe at the macroscopic scale.

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RI-ITEST ResultsChem Students

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Tuesday, August 10, 2010

RI-ITEST ResultsTeachers

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Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Tools for Teachers• Collections of digital materials

• http://www.teachersdomain.org • http://nsdl.org

• Hardware• “Clickers”• cheap digital cameras

• Online Course Management Systems• Moodle• Sakai• Custom tools for specific collections:

RI-ITEST web portal - http://ri-itest.portal.concord.org

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Technology is Not a Magic Bullet

• Tech is just a tool

• Can be used poorly or to better engage students

• At the student level - primary use is to improve inquiry

• For teachers - more efficient management and communications

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Contact Info

Daniel Damelin

ddamelin@concord.org

www.concord.org

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Tuesday, August 10, 2010