Pre-service science teachers' experiences of computer simulation and virtual reality application describing atoms and molecules and their combined effects onrepresentational competence skills

This qualitative case study investigated the combined effects of computer simulations and virtual reality applications on pre-service science teachers' representational competence skills. A workshop which consisted of three consecutive sessions was designed to investigate the purpose of the study. The following questions guided the study: (1) What are the effects of using computer simulations on pre-service science teachers' representational competence skills? (2) What are the combined effects of using computer simulations and virtual reality applications on pre-service science teachers' representational competence skills? (3) What are the experiences of pre-service science teachers using computer simulation in describing atoms and molecules? (4) What are the experiences of pre-service science teachers using virtual reality applications in describing atoms and molecules? The study utilized the set of skills determined by Kozma & Russell (2005) as representational competence skills and sample included five third year and five fourth year pre-service science teachers in Turkey. Pre-tests, post-tests, and semi-structured interviews were used as data collection instruments, and thematic analysis was applied to analyze data. Strengths and weaknesses of computer simulations and virtual reality applications were revealed in this study. The findings highlighted that representational competence skills could be improved from first level to fifth level by both technological tools: computer simulations and virtual reality applications.