Activity Design with PhET Simulations for STEM Education (Coursera)

Activity Design with PhET Simulations for STEM Education (Coursera)

PhET Interactive Simulations, a project of the University of Colorado Boulder, provides fun, free, interactive, research-based science and mathematics simulations for use across, primary, secondary, and higher education levels. We extensively test and evaluate each simulation to ensure educational effectiveness. All simulations are open source and free to all students and teachers. In this course, we will review strategies for how to use PhET to create sim-based inquiry activities for math or science classes, including activity sheets that students can use as they work independently or in small groups while they have direct access to simulations on their own devices.

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To finish this course, you need to complete one assignment with Peer Review: Create an inquiry based activity worksheet for science or math that integrate PhET simulations.
This course is the second of three courses that integrate the specialization “Active Learning in STEM with PhET Interactive Simulations”.

What You Will Learn

  • Reflect on inquiry learning in education.
  • Develop strategies for writing sim-based inquiry activities.
  • Design a sim-based activity sheet.

Course 3 of 3 in the Active Learning in STEM with PhET Interactive Simulations Specialization.

Syllabus

WEEK 1
Introduction
Read the welcome lesson to decide whether to complete Module 2 (Science Activity Design) or Module 3 (Math Activity Design). Successful completion of this course only requires you to work through the science or math module.

WEEK 2
Science Activity Design
In this module, we will review strategies for how to use PhET to create sim-based inquiry activities for science classes, including activity sheets that students can use as they work independently or in small groups while they have direct access to simulations on their own device. You need to only complete Module 2 (Science Activity Design) or Module 3 (Math Activity Design) to successfully pass this course.

WEEK 3
Math Activity Design
In this virtual workshop, we will review strategies for how to use PhET to create sim-based inquiry activities for math classes, including activity sheets that students can use as they work independently or in small groups while they have direct access to simulations on their own device. You need to only complete Module 2 (Science Activity Design) or Module 3 (Math Activity Design) to successfully pass this course.

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