Abstract

Despite numerous initiatives in recent decades, there is still a shortage of approximately 449,300 STEM professionals in Germany (Anger et al., 2024). Furthermore, the increasing digitalization of all areas of life is increasing not only the demand for IT professionals but also the requirements of companies and employees with digital expertise. In line with this development, there are calls to strengthen the use of digital media in schools. In particular, simulations offer great potential for science lessons due to their high degree of interactivity and similar characteristics to experiments. A comprehensive literature review was conducted to identify research gaps. A multistage process, which included a title analysis, abstract analysis, and full-text analysis, was employed to analyze 42 full texts. These were qualitatively evaluated and discussed. The majority of studies looked at simulations in isolation or compared simulation-based teaching with other forms of learning. It was found that simulations promote self-efficacy and knowledge growth, among other things. However, no clear conclusions could be drawn with regard to interest and cognitive load.

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