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EvoBuild: A Quickstart Toolkit for Programming Agent-Based Models of Evolutionary Processes

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Abstract

Extensive research has shown that one of the benefits of programming to learn about scientific phenomena is that it facilitates learning about mechanisms underlying the phenomenon. However, using programming activities in classrooms is associated with costs such as requiring additional time to learn to program or students needing prior experience with programming. This paper presents a class of programming environments that we call quickstart: Environments with a negligible threshold for entry into programming and a modest ceiling. We posit that such environments can provide benefits of programming for learning without incurring associated costs for novice programmers. To make this claim, we present a design-based research study conducted to compare programming models of evolutionary processes with a quickstart toolkit with exploring pre-built models of the same processes. The study was conducted in six seventh grade science classes in two schools. Students in the programming condition used EvoBuild, a quickstart toolkit for programming agent-based models of evolutionary processes, to build their NetLogo models. Students in the exploration condition used pre-built NetLogo models. We demonstrate that although students came from a range of academic backgrounds without prior programming experience, and all students spent the same number of class periods on the activities including the time students took to learn programming in this environment, EvoBuild students showed greater learning about evolutionary mechanisms. We discuss the implications of this work for design research on programming environments in K-12 science education.

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Notes

  1. In a NetLogo model, a tick denotes a unit of time.

  2. The names of schools are pseudonyms.

  3. Student responses have been transcribed as is from their writing, retaining grammatical or spelling errors.

  4. This was the name of the grassland for the re-run of Experiment 1, which was a camouflage experiment.

  5. Model rules were presented to EvoExplore students through a teacher demonstration at the start of the activity. They were also accessible on student worksheets.

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Acknowledgements

This research is made possible by support from the National Science Foundation under NSF grant DRL-1109834. However, any opinions, findings, conclusions, and/or recommendations are those of the investigators and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Foundation. The authors thank Jessica Watkins, Sharona Levy, and David Hammer for feedback on previous versions of this manuscript.

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Correspondence to Aditi Wagh.

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Wagh, A., Wilensky, U. EvoBuild: A Quickstart Toolkit for Programming Agent-Based Models of Evolutionary Processes. J Sci Educ Technol 27, 131–146 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10956-017-9713-1

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