The effects of scaffolded simulation-based inquiry learning environment on understanding of gases

This study aims to investigate the effects of a scaffolded simulation-based inquiry learning environment on students' understanding and motivation of gases. The study group of the research consists of 60 11th-grade students studying in a high school in Ankara in the 2023-2024 academic year, where the Ministry of National Education (MoNE) curriculum is implemented. The study was carried out with a nonequivalent control group design. For the study, the implementation was carried out with two experimental and one control group. During this process, in experimental group 1 (N=20), the lessons were taught with scaffolded simulation-based inquiry learning, in experimental group 2 (N=20) with scaffolded inquiry learning, and in the control group (N=20) with the traditional teaching method. As data collection tools, the Gases Concept Test (GCT) and Gases Achievement Test (GAT) were used to examine students' understanding of gases, the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) was used to determine students' motivation towards chemistry course, and the Interview Form (IF) was used to obtain students' opinions about PhET(Physics Education Technology) simulations. For the analysis of quantitative data, dependent samples t-test, one-way ANOVA, Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test, and Kruskal Wallis test were applied. Qualitative data were analyzed by content analysis. As a result of the analyses, it was found that there was a significant difference in favor of the experimental groups in terms of GCT scores, while there was a substantial difference between all groups in GAT results, and there was no significant difference between the groups in MSLQ scores. In addition, it was seen that the students mostly expressed positive opinions about the effect and use of PhET simulations in learning. This study is thought to guide research on scaffolded simulation-based inquiry learning environments.