The impact of prior knowledge on the educational effectiveness of simulations for reconciling chemical equations

Abstract

Balancing chemical equations is a difficult element of chemical education. Therefore, the solution is to use PhET simulation, which shows how by making sandwiches you learn to balance chemical reactions. Our previous research has demonstrated the usefulness of this simulation in teaching children aged 9 to 12. Over 50% of them achieved success. The research aimed to investigate whether this simulation is equally useful in teaching older students (respondents were between 14 and 19 years old). A total of 251 students completed a pre-test and then a post-test after working with the simulation. It turned out that the longer students studied chemistry, the more difficult it was for them to understand this analogy. As an explanation for this fact, psychological concepts such as negative transfer, proactive. This means that simulations should be used at the earliest possible stages of learning.