Use of phet simulators for learning the concept of solutions from representations in chemistry

Abstract

This article aims to analyze the use of PhET simulators associated with experimental activities for learning the concept of solutions from representations in chemistry in forty tenth grade students from a public Educational Institution in the department of Córdoba, Colombia. The research was developed from a qualitative perspective with an interpretive scope, based on the Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning (TCAM), addressing the use of words and images as a principle for the construction of learning, through non-participant observation, class diaries and guides of in-depth interviews.The results show that the use of PhET simulators associated with experimental activities promoted the construction of better structured and deeper learning around the concept of chemical solutions by the students, through mental mobility between abstract and implicit information and macro representations or explicit. The research contributed significantly to a new vision in chemistry classes, providing learning alternatives in a dynamic and interactive way with different resources that can be applied to all the curricular contents of a chemistry course.