Teacher-Mediated and Student-Led Interaction with a Physics Simulation: Effects on the Learning Experience

Computer simulations are often used as support material for science education, as they can engage students through inquiry-based learning, promote their active interaction in the experimentation phase, and help them visualize abstract concepts. For instance, interactive simulations developed by the PhET Interactive Simulations Project are being increasingly used in K–12 physics education. These simulations provide different levels of interaction to scaffold how students are exposed to the content embedded in the simulations. In a classroom setting, students can interact directly with the simulation (changing the parameters themselves) or indirectly via the teacher, who controls the simulation in front of the class (guiding the interaction through questions). Although researchers have investigated the effects of differences in interaction levels on learning outcomes, fewer studies explore how indirect interaction with the simulation compares to when students interact directly with the simulation. To address this question, we conducted a quasi-experimental study with 34 primary school students, examining the effects of direct versus indirect interaction using a simulation on sound propagation. Students in both groups were asked to produce drawings and explanations to assess their understanding of the material both before and after our intervention. A quantitative analysis comparing the learning outcomes of the two conditions did not yield significant differences, suggesting that both groups achieved comparable short-term learning gains. However, our findings suggest that there could be cognitive understanding differences between conditions. We discuss implications for further research on how to best integrate simulations into science lessons at the primary school level.