Abstract

Simulations are becoming increasingly common as a method of teaching scientific phenomena. Research into the impact of using simulations has also been ongoing for over 20 years. Regarding their impact, various studies have found positive effects on interest, procedural and declarative knowledge, scientific thinking and behaviour, causal relationships, and spatial thinking. However, the presentation of the results does not always make it clear in which contexts the respective findings were obtained. This paper aims to provide deeper insight into research on the use of simulations in science education and to present study designs more explicitly. This article should help to make research results easier to interpret and to identify gaps in research methods.

Keywords: Digitalization; review; Science education; simulation; STEM