The development of simulation and game in 5E learning cycle to teach photoelectric effect for grade 12 students

Some phenomena in physics, such as the photoelectric effect, are not easy for students to comprehend because of their abstractness, complexity, and time-consuming to do experiments in classroom settings. Physics teachers need to help students concretize the abstract phenomenon. One solution is the utilization of simulation in teaching because good simulation can make many physics topics, which are abstract and difficult to teach, simpler and clearer for students (Bozkurt & Ilik, 2010). Game also help keep students’ attention and makes students focus on the complex and abstract contents (Anderson & Barnett, 2013; Clark et al., 2009). Good games can create immersive environment and adaptive control for students to learn the contents embedded in them (Wernbacher et al., 2012).

Quantum physics is regarded as one important topic in physics for science students to learn because it can be applied in diverse fields such as science, engineering, technology, and so on. Cultivating deep understanding of quantum physics in science students is therefore demanded. Regarding this, the quantum physics concepts are included in secondary science curriculum worldwide. Among various topics in quantum physics, the topic of photoelectric effect is pivotal and accepted as a stepping stone entering the world of quantum physics (Hughes & DuBridge, 1932; Klassen, 2011; Knight, 2004) because it has historical importance and demonstrates the particle nature and properties of light as a photon (James, 1973; McKagan, Handley, Perkins, & Wieman, 2009). However, many students face difficulty to understand the photoelectric effect phenomenon because it is abstract and usually explained through mathematical equations, and demands multidimensional understanding and mathematical skill. Helping science students understand the photoelectric effect is therefore regarded as a big challenge for science educators (Steinberg & Oberem, 2000).

The current reform of physics education is moving towards student-centered teaching and learning, which has been proposed as a major way to prepare current generation of students, who need more critical thinking and problem solving skills. In student-centered teaching and learning, students are given more opportunities to interact with the scientific phenomena, to critically explore and solve problems embedded in the phenomena, and to create deep understanding about the phenomena (Rezaei & Katz, 2002). The student-centered approaches are based strongly on the constructivist philosophy. In constructivism, it is believed that students come to the classroom with prior knowledge and experience that can affect their learning. In learning the new topic, students link their prior knowledge and experience with the new ones and construct their own understanding about the topic. During this process, a teacher is regarded as a facilitator taking a role in promoting students to actively participate in learning activities and subsequently construct knowledge by themselves (Rias & Zaman, 2011). In the constructivist classroom, science learning is focused on the process rather than the product of learning and multiple perspectives are accepted (Rezaei & Katz, 2002).

Like other topics in physics, the photoelectric effect topic is widely taught by traditional, teacher-centered approaches such as lecture and rote learning (Steinberg & Oberem, 1996, 2000), which are not effective to help science students develop deep understanding especially in the abstract and multidimensional phenomenon as the photoelectric effect (Clark, Nelson, Sengupta, & D’Angelo, 2009). Instead, in learning the photoelectric effect students themselves must construct their own mental models to accommodate and apply the photoelectric effect concepts (Anderson & Barnett, 2013). Thus, the constructivist approaches should be employed in teaching photoelectric effect.

The 5E learning cycle is one of constructivist teaching approaches that is used around the world. Originally, this approach had been created by the Biological Science Curriculum Study (BSCS) program. The stages in 5E learning cycle are consisted of Engagement, Exploration, Explanation, Elaboration, and Evaluation. The combination of 5E learning cycle with simulation and game is seen as being interested especially in the high-technology world at present, which the computer applications and software are widely applied in education to facilitate self-learning environment (Bozkurt & Ilik, 2010). In history, the Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI) was established to represent the use of computer in helping teach students. CAI helps students visualize some abstract science concepts and phenomena and promote their learning achievement (Bakac, Tasoglu & Akbay, 2010). At present, simulation is widely used to simulate the complex or abstract concepts or phenomena, which are difficult for students to visulize and understand (Bayrak, 2008). Simulation can breakdown the complex science processes into the simple and easy-to-understand ones (Liu & Li, 2011). In addition, the use of education game is useful in making students learn science contents with enjoyment. Thus, good simulations and games can provide avenue for science students to learn complex, abstract concepts and phenomena with understanding and enjoyment (Anderson & Barnett, 2013). Simulation and game are presented as the appropriate tools to be applied with the learning cycle (Wankat & Oreovicz, 1993).

The photoelectric effect topic is included in the grade 12 science curriculum in Bhutan. Many Bhutanese physics teachers teach the photoelectric effect topic by describing the photoelectric effect experiments in the physics textbook to students and then requiring them to interpret relevant graphs. There is a lack of student-centered activities and learning materials and media to help students visualize and understand the abstract and multidimensional nature of the photoelectric effect phenomenon. The inclusion of simulation and game in the 5E learning cycle in this study present an initial effort in improving teaching and learning about photoelectric effect in the Bhutanese science education context in order to help grade 12 students visualize and understand the concepts of photoelectric effect within active and enjoyable learning environment.

The research questions guided this study are: a) What are the desirable characteristics of the simulation and game based learning unit of photoelectric effect for grade 12 students? And b) Can the simulation and game based learning unit promote the participating grade 12 students’ understanding of photoelectric effect? What are the participating grade 12 student’s attitudes to learning photoelectric effect by simulation and game?

This study aims to: a) develop the simulation and game in the 5E learning cycle for teaching the photoelectric effect for grade 12 students; b) explore the impact of the simulation and game in the 5E learning cycle for promoting the grade 12 students’ understanding of photoelectric effect, and c) explore the grade 12 students’ attitudes to learning with the simulation and game in the 5E learning cycle in the topic of photoelectric effect.