Effectiveness of simulations versus traditional approach in teaching physics

Abstract

Abstract Computers and computer simulations are no longer new tools in education. The question is whether computer simulations can partially or even completely replace the traditional approaches. In this paper, we describe the outcome of our research, where computer simulations as teaching tools were a competitor to the traditional approach at local grammar schools. Selected factors that may influence the results were taken into account, such as the topic, the teacher’s role or the worksheet layout and its style of guidance. We arranged several modules of didactic experiments, and those showing different ways of organizing the structure of a module are described here. As our results show, computer simulations provide comparable options and are a fully fledged teaching tool, and not only a complementary one.