Model-based simulation design for the students’ conceptual understanding of introductory thermodynamics

Abstract

Abstract The present study refers to the design principles of an educational simulation for the introductory physics level and their application on a recently developed simulation (IGasES: Ideal Gas Educational Simulation) for classical thermodynamics and specifically for the First Law of Thermodynamics. These principles rely on three modeling aspects (physics teaching, learning and educational simulations) and their convergence for the construction of a model-based educational simulation. The study also reviews some of the issues that commonly used simulations encounter for the teaching and learning of this topic. For addressing these issues, we choose the energy chain model as a proper representation of a thermodynamic system for mediating between the phenomenology and the mathematical expression of the First Law. In conclusion, this study draws attention on the characteristics of the educational software rather than the way they are put in use and also to the modeling procedures than can facilitate the student’s conceptual understanding.