EFFECTS OF COMPUTER SIMULATIONS PROGRAMS ON UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ ACHIEVMENTS IN PHYSICS

The present study investigated whether computer assisted instruction was more effective than face-to-face instruction in increasing student success in physics. The study was conducted in the spring semester of 2006 at the Department of Science and Mathematics for Secondary Education at Hacettepe University. Seventy-eight freshman students from the Divisions of Biology Education and Chemistry Education participated in the quantitative study which included a pre-test/post-test control group design. The experimental group consisted of students from the Division of Biology Education while the control group consisted of students from the Division of Chemistry Education. Experiment and control groups were randomly selected. The subject of geometric optic covered in Physics II Course was provided through a simulation program called Pearls 3.0 to the experiment group, whereas the control group had the same instruction through face-to-face teaching methods. An achievement test addressing the contents of the geometric optic subject was prepared, which had an internal consistency coefficient of .73. Data obtained through the achievement test were analyzed through conducting t-tests with SPSS 11.0 for Windows. Findings revealed that the experimental group which had the instruction through the computer simulation was more successful than the control group who had face-to-face instruction