The goal of this three-year project, funded by IES National Center for Educational Research, is to develop effective chemistry simulations that are optimized for a broad range of learners, including students of ethnic or racial minority groups that have underachieved academically. The project brings together faculty from NYU Steinhardt's Educational Communication and Technology, Applied Psychology, and Teaching and Learning programs, and from the College of Arts and Science's Morse Academic Plan. To help improve high school chemistry education, we developed a theoretical framework for the design of chemistry simulations that includes an active learning approach, an approach to reduce visual cognitive load, and a focus on learner characteristics. More on project goals...

Develop and test interventions that use high-impact simulations and that could be combined to form a high school chemistry curriculum.

Obtain data to assess the potential efficacy of our interventions for a diverse audience, including academically underachieving students.

Foster design partnerships involving teachers, educational researchers, educational technologies, and scientist to serve as a model for reform.

Provide design guidelines for simulations in science education based on empirical evidence for student learning.
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