Using Dynamic Simulation to Teach Physics in a Real-World Context

Dynamic simulation has great potential as a tool for teaching physics and science in general. This paper describes a family of simulators that have been developed to teach several topics in physics including circular motion, collisions, energy storage, and heat flow. These simulators provide students with laboratories for experimenting with the phenomena in the context of realworld situations such as driving, home energy conservation, and sports. The simulators were designed to serve as companions to a curriculum called Active Physics (AP) which was created with NSF support to make the subject more appealing and understandable to the majority of high school students who otherwise do not study physics. The paper contrasts dynamic simulation and traditional approaches to teaching physics. It also discusses the value of simulators with "userfriendly" interfaces compared to using System Dynamics models alone. The paper describes how each phenomenon was modeled and presents interfaces for each simulator.