PhET Interactive Simulations for Active Learning in STEM Presentation at the Consortium for Healthcare Education Online Faculty Professional Development Workshop May 15, 2015 MP4 Video

University of Colorado Boulder’s PhET Simulations project is one of two winners of the 2014 Wharton-QS Stars Reimagine Education Award. The PhET project began in 2001 and has evolved over the years. It currently offers about 130 free interactive science and math simulations for early elementary up through college students and has over 75 million uses per year around the world. PhET’s next generation of simulations are being developed in HTML5 allowing them to run on any device that can browse the web. Three topics are discussed: (1) how certain simulation features facilitate student learning and exploration in an inquiry based environment; (2) the range of simulation uses, focusing on types of learning goals and facilitation techniques; and (3) an outline of the best practices that leverage simulation features in classrooms and creation of simulation materials and activities. The cost for developing new simulations is around $60,000 each. The development cycle used in designing these simulations is discussed as well as the pedagogical goals to address student learning and outcomes. View PhET available simulations at http://phet.colorado.edu. Yuen-ying Carpenter, post-doctoral researcher in chemistry, PhET Interactive Simulations project, University of Colorado Boulder, presented this information to faculty working on the Consortium for Healthcare Education Online project at the CHEO Discipline Panel Faculty Professional Development Workshop – By Design: Taking ALL Allied Health Students Across the Finish Line, on May 15, 2015. The event was hosted by the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) and was held at its SHEPC Learning Center in Boulder, CO. The CHEO project is funded by a U.S. Department of Labor Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) grant. See www.wiche.edu/nanslo/CHEO-faculty-professional-development for more information about this workshop.