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Student Use of Scaffolded Inquiry Simulations in Middle School Science

Interactive simulations can help students make sense of complex phenomena in which multiple variables are at play. To succeed, these simulations benefit from scaffolds that guide students to keep track of their investigations and reach meaningful insights. In this research, we designed an interactive simulation of a solar oven design and explored how students utilized the simulation during learning and how scaffolds functioned to alter the learning experience. We used a table for recording trials and guiding questions to scaffold students’ interactions with the simulation. We employed data mining techniques to analyze student interactions for use of the control of variables strategy and other approaches. We found that the control of variables strategy may not be as beneficial for learning as an exploratory strategy.