NetLogo to Support HS Science Courses: Science+C Project Information

Educators
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I’m happy to share here about Science+C, a collaborative project led by my colleagues and I at Education Development Center (EDC) in partnership with the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (MA DESE) and funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). Science+C integrates computational science into high school science curricula with a dual purpose of advancing student learning and conducting research on its effectiveness. Through this initiative, students engage with scientific concepts using computational models in NetLogo, enabling them to explore complex scientific phenomena and conduct experiments in an interactive way. The project includes a research component designed to understand and support the implementation of computational thinking and computer science (CT/CS) practices in science classrooms, gathering data on teachers’ experiences and students’ engagement.

Instead of constructing models from scratch, students use, decode, and modify pre-existing NetLogo models, aligning with Massachusetts digital literacy and science standards. One teacher participating in Science+C remarked, “Seeing the concepts with this visual model just cements it for a lot of them. We could talk about it, we can lecture, but when they actually see things moving and interacting, it just makes it on a whole different level,” underscoring the impact of these simulations in enhancing comprehension and engagement. You can read more about Science+C at https://scienceplusc.org/. We are interested in knowing if others are using NetLogo for similar purposes!

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This looks like a great initiative. Thank you for sharing this Kristen. I have conducted in person training sessions in NetLogo and based on my experience so far, seeing and doing makes for the most effective learning.

I am currently in the process of developing a free and open comprehensive study material for NetLogo aimed at students and practitioners who are new to programming.

The official manual does an excellent job in documenting and explaining concepts and APIs in NetLogo, and makes for a good reference resource. I feel beginners may use a more gentle and easier to follow introduction to programming concepts, NetLogo features and APIs.

I am looking at developing the material consisting of text, code samples and animated visuals to ease learning.

I’d really appreciate any kind of inputs that you or your team would like to share or kind of curriculum they could use. I plan to both develop and publish all the study material in open and freely accessible.

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