Children's Participation in a Virtual Epidemic in the Science Classroom: Making Connections to Natural Infectious Diseases

Autor/inn/en	Neulight, Nina; Kafai, Yasmin B.; Kao, Linda; Foley, Brian; Galas, Cathleen
Titel	Children's Participation in a Virtual Epidemic in the Science Classroom: Making Connections to Natural Infectious Diseases
Quelle	In: Journal of Science Education and Technology, 16 (2007) 1, S.47-58 (12 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1059-0145
DOI	10.1007/s10956-006-9029-z
Schlagwörter	Communicable Diseases; Epidemiology; Science Instruction; Computer Simulation; Computer Uses in Education; Grade 6; Elementary School Science; Elementary School Students; Comprehension; Concept Formation + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Contagious disease; Contagious diseases; Communicable disease; Infektionskrankheit; Epidemiologie; Teaching of science; Science education; Natural sciences Lessons; Naturwissenschaftlicher Unterricht; Computergrafik; Computersimulation; Computernutzung; School year 06; 6. Schuljahr; Schuljahr 06; Verstehen; Verständnis; Concept learning; Begriffsbildung
Abstract	This study investigated students' understanding of a virtual infectious disease in relation to their understanding of natural infectious diseases. Two sixth-grade classrooms of students between the ages of 10 and 12 (46 students) took part in a participatory simulation of a virtual infectious disease, which was integrated into their science curriculum. The results from our analyses reveal that students perceived the simulation as similar to a natural infectious disease and that the immersive components of the simulation afforded students the opportunity to discuss their understandings of natural disease and to compare them to their experiences with the virtual disease. We found that while the virtual disease capitalized on students' knowledge of natural infectious disease through virtual symptoms, these symptoms may have led students to think of its transfer more as an observable or mechanical event rather than as a biological process. These findings provide helpful indicators to science educators and educational designers interested in creating and integrating online simulations within classroom environments to further students' conceptual understanding. (Author).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10