The Dual Benefit of Learning by Constructing Models of Complex Systems: Promoting Understanding of Electric Circuits and Model Construction Practices

This paper presents a study that explores students' learning of electric circuits in physics through constructing computational models of complex systems using the Much.Matter.in.Motion (MMM) platform. The study employed a quasi-experimental, pretest-intervention-posttest-control comparison-group design with 33 eighth-grade students using MMM compared to 23 students who followed a traditional curriculum using textbooks. Both groups had six 1.5-hour sessions and answered identical pre- and posttest questionnaires. Log files while using MMM were collected. Results show: Learning by constructing models with MMM better supports science concepts and systems-level understanding than those who followed the traditional teaching approach; In more advanced construction activities, students tend to construct fewer models but make more comprehensive changes within each model compared to earlier activities. This is the first study that analyzed the development of model construction practices through MMM log files.