TEACHING AND LEARNING BY USING STELLA

INTRODUCTION What is simulation? Simulation is the imitation of the operation of a real-world process or system over time. The act of simulating something first requires that a model be developed; this model represents the key characteristics or behaviors of the selected physical or abstract system or process. The model represents the system itself, whereas the simulation represents the operation of the system over time. Simulation is used in many contexts, such as simulation of technology for performance optimization, safety engineering, testing, training, education, and video games. Simulation is also used with scientific modeling of natural systems or human systems to gain insight into their functioning. Simulation can be used to show the eventual real effects of alternative conditions and courses of action. A computer simulation, a computer model, or a computational model is a computer program, run on a single computer, or a network of computers, that attempts to simulate an abstract model of a particular system. It can also refer to a 3D computer graphics model made to represent a threedimensional object through the use of specialized software. Besides that, computer simulation also can refer to the practice called emulation in which the functions of a particular system are reproduced on a second system. A computer model, also known as a computational model, is a computer simulation widely used in the sciences and social sciences as an extension of mathematical modeling. A computer simulation of this type creates a sampling of representative outcomes or sequences of events in situations in which playing out all possible consequences of the model is prohibitive, and the models may be more or less abstract. Computer models are used in biology, chemistry, and physics, as well as economics and psychology.

What is modeling? modeling is the process of producing a model which is a model is representation of the construction and working of some system of interest. One purpose of a model is to enable the analyst to predict the effect of changes to the system. A good model is a judicious tradeoff between realism and simplicity. Generally, a model intended for a simulation study is a mathematical model developed with the help of simulation software. Mathematical model classifications include deterministic (input and output variables are fixed values) or stochastic (at least one of the input or output variables is probabilistic); static (time is not taken into account) or dynamic (time-varying interactions among variables are taken into account). Typically, simulation models are stochastic and dynamic. What is STELLA? STELLA is targeted toward education and research. Its documentation and sample models cover the natural and social sciences. Within the STELLA product, we'll find out how the software can be applied in Biology, Chemistry, Environmental Science, Economics, Psychology, History and Physics. Easy-to-use STELLA models provide endless opportunities to explore by asking "what if" and watching what happens in a simulation, inspiring the exciting 'ah-ha' moments of learning. Thousands of educators and researchers have made STELLA the gold standard by using it to study everything from economics to physics, literature to calculus, chemistry to public policy. University, college, and research communities have all recognized STELLAs unique ability to stimulate learning. Education and research are more exciting when we use STELLA because we can move out of the lecture hall and library and provide us opportunity to create, experience, and see on our own. This is because STELLA offers a practical way to dynamically visualize and communicate how complex systems and ideas really works. STELLA is for everyone, whether they are first time or experienced modelers, teachers, students, and researchers can use STELLA to explore and answer endless question such as how does climate change influence an ecosystem over time? How do oil prices respond to shocks in supply and/or demand? What will happen when the ozone layer is gone? and How do basic microeconomic principles affect income and consumption?

STELLA very interesting tool to use in teaching and learning. Students more exciting when they can learn, see and experience something by themselves. Thats why STELLA suitable to used for students. Additionally, STELLA supports diverse learning styles with a wide range of storytelling features. Diagrams, charts, and animation help visual learners discover relationships between variables in an equation. Verbal learner might surround visual models with words or attach documents to explain the impact of a new environmental policy. STELLA gives us an enormously powerful and flexible tool for creating environments that allow people to learn by doing-Dennis Meadows, Co-author Limits To Growth. Natural Selection by Using STELLA Software. I have chose Natural Selection as an example to conduct experiment by using STELLA software. In 1858 two men, Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace, independently proposed a mechanism for evolution. Darwin named this mechanism natural selection. According to the theory of evolution by natural selection, such that in a particular environment, certain traits are more advantageous than others. This individuals with the advantageous traits are able to survive better, and therefore they are also able to reproduce more offspring. In subsequent generations, there are relatively more individuals with the inherited advantageous traits. In this way, the population changes, or evolves, from one generation to the next. In the accompanying STELLA, we examine instances natural selection in hypothetical rabbit in which the individuals show variation in speed. We also examine there are foxes that munch rabbit with average speed. the appearance of an average speed rabbits can save the fast speed rabbit that cannot be eaten by foxes. So, average speed rabbit cannot survive and fast speed rabbits continue survive. Foxes need to find or chase something slower than the fast rabbit. By using STELLA software, we can see the graph that show the flow of the fast speed rabbit survive. There are four graph that show the flow of the natural selection of the rabbit.

By using this simulation we can motivate students and make them to think and making a prediction by run the simulation and see the graph that shown. From the simulation we can see that the first graph that we run with zero show a straight line like in Figure 1. From this first graph of the simulation can make the students to know what will happen to the graph if they change the zero to other number. So, this shows that with this simulation students become more curios and want to explore and try more on it. Besides that, make them more excited to learn by using this simulation. Furthermore, the students can see by themselves the changes of the graph and they can predict what will happen next. Integrating simulations into the curriculum also ensures that connections to domain knowledge and real-world applications are made explicit. As with any instructional technology, computer simulations should be chosen to meet your objectives and teach the content (Flick and Bell 2000). From this stage, students can try to change the speed bias from 0 to 20 and then 30 to see the changes of the graph. After change the speed bias students can run it and the graph will show the changes like Figure 2 and Figure 3. In this simulation also, if the students click on the button [?] it will show some info to give the idea of the graph. The info, if you set this value to 20, it means the rabbits getting munched are (on average) 20% slower that the average rabbit in the population. If you set it to 0, that means the rabbits getting munched are equal in average speed to the average of the overall population. This simulation not only interesting but also provide with the info and guideline. After three graph, students should be able to predict the next graph in this simulation. This can develop intrinsic motivation of the students which is an internal desire to participate, which is enjoyable and self-satisfying. This type of simulation draw the learner inherently, and in the best case scenario learning and fun happen simultaneously. Intrinsic motivation in a simplified form engenders a desire to freely act and to pursue a thing, activity, event or action, based primarily on an unquantifiable internal compulsory desire for pursuit. So, students will more expose to the simulation and make them want to explore more about simulation. This simulation not too hard for student to learn it because it provides an instruction to use it and a little bit about the title of the experiment such as a little bit about natural selection which is what is involve in the graph.

So the next graph like Figure 4 can be predicted by students after run the simulation and see the graph two times. Students will more excited to know the result of their prediction of the graph. This can make student more motivate and more curios and think more about natural selection. Through this simulation also can make student more understand and can give more chance to some students that cannot understand about natural selection try again. This is because this simulation can be repeated many times as they like and the speed bias can be change many times as they want. So, this simulation not limited for student to explore and understand more from it. While working with this simulation program the student is experimenting, so he or she is playing an active rather than a passive role. This active engagement contrasts with the situation students often experience during 'face-to-face' teaching when they listen passively. Simulation creates, according to Foster, an interactive educational setting which offers the possibility to effect changes in relation to the learning experience in a more efficient way than is normally possible with other didactic methods.

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Advantages and disadvantages using this simulation in teaching and learning. Many advantages can be cited with respect to the use of computer simulation programs in education. A number of these do not specifically relate to simulation only but also to the validity for practical laboratories or the use of the computer in education in general. There are some specific advantages connected with computer simulation. First, some general advantageous aspects of simulation as a form and method of learning will be indicated. Computer simulation programs can be used in education to give the student more feeling for reality in some abstract fields of learning. Foster (1984) says about this, 'Simulations can be entertaining because of dramatic and game-like components'. Simulation helps teacher to explain a difficult interrelationship, such as a hybridization experiment with fruit flies in the traditional way it is likely that part of the class will fail to understand. Execution of the real experiment is impossible because this would take a number of weeks and can therefore not be integrated as such within a lesson. When, after the necessary theoretical discussion of the material, a simulation experiment follows there will be a greater chance that more students will understand a complete relationship.

Some advantages of computer simulation as an educational tool or for training are the apparatus necessary to be able to carry out an experiment in reality is too expensive and often this apparatus can only be operated by specialists, if it can be obtained at all. The student can insert those parameter values that he or she thinks will produce a result which is of interest to him. The student can devote his attention to parts that interest him. The student can skip other parts or aspects. This way he or she learns how to experiment systematically. Besides that, a student can choose how he or she wants to approach a simulation experiment, how often he or she wants to repeat the experiment and to which degree he or she wants to intervene. In computer simulation there are usually many ways to achieve the goals the student has set himself. The process to be investigated takes place so quickly in reality that it cannot be examined through the traditional experiment, for example certain chemical processes. Changes in a chemical reaction should be presented at such a pace in educational situations that observation is possible. In reality those changes can hardly be noticed and they are not interesting for calculations, but only for the acquisition of insight. There are not only advantages connected with the use of computer simulation programs in education and training. Limitations are in some cases the result of the wrong or inappropriate use of such programs. Possible limitations of a general and educational kind are a computer simulation program cannot develop the students' emotional and intuitive awareness that the use of simulations is specifically directed at establishing relations between variables in a model. So this intuition has to be developed in a different way. Computer simulation cannot react to unexpected 'sub-goals' which the student may develop during a learning-process. These subgoals would be brought up during a teacher-student interaction but they remain unsaid during the individual student use of a simulation. Computer simulation programs may function well from a technical point of view, but they are difficult to fit into a curriculum. Often a computer simulation program cannot be adapted to take into different student levels into account within a group or class. A computer simulation program can certainly be made to adapt to different circumstances if the designer bears that in mind; however, for many computer simulation programs this has not happened.

Is it suitable to use simulation for students at school in future? Using simulation for student in learning is suitable. This is because, from time to time technology become more advance and education should be more interesting by using this simulation where students can be more creative and can also help to stimulate the heuristic skills in teachers. Besides that, the simulation appealing growing interest because of their potentials to supplement constructivist learning which is student centered learning. They offer inquiry environments and cognitive tools to scaffold learning and apply problem-solving skills. Furthermore, computer simulation are also good tools to improve students hypothesis construction, graphic interpretation and prediction skills. Besides that, one of the important is simulation can be a trigger for student to learn more especially in science. This is because many students nowadays that do not interested in science because for them science is something that boring. So, by using simulation in education can attract students to love their subject especially science. Simulation can give students opportunities or chances to learn and explore more even can make students become creative and innovative. Furthermore, simulation just a program that show something impossible to so it in daily life but also make us to think and predict or estimate something and make the students to think out of the box. This can help the students be more intellectual, confident and courage to try something new. By using computer simulation, students can try many experiment. Besides that, simulation also can prevent students from dangerous and not using expensive tools to do it unlike do it in real life. Other than that, students also can run experiment that impossible to do it in real experiment. Besides that, this simulation can save time and more easy to understand and clearly show the result about the experiment and do not make the students boring to repeat experiment every time them fail without simulation.

CONCLUSION Computer simulations make these types of interactive, meaningful learning opportunities possible. Learners can observe, explore, recreate, and receive immediate feedback about real objects, phenomena, and process that would otherwise be too complex, time-consuming, or dangerous. Broadly defined, computer simulations are computer generated dynamic models that present theoretical or simplified models of real world components, phenomena, or processes. They can include animations, visualizations, and interactive laboratory experiences. In a simulated environment, time changes can be sped up or slowed down. Teachers can focus students attention on learning objectives when real-world environments are simplified, several reasons of events is clearly explained, and unnecessary cognitive tasks are reduced through a simulation. Technological advances have increasingly brought instructional digital technologies into the science classroom. Teachers may have greater access to Internet connected classroom computers, wireless laptop carts, computer projectors, and interactive whiteboards than ever before. As you consider how these resources can be used to enhance science teaching and learning, you may find yourself turning often to computer simulations, especially since they are tools frequently used by scientists in their daily work. Lastly, computer simulations have the potential to enhance the way you teach and your students learn. They allow you to bring even the most abstract concepts to life for your students and incorporate otherwise impossible or impractical experiences into your daily instruction. When used in conjunction with the guidelines presented here, your students will be engaged in inquiry, further develop their knowledge and conceptual understanding of the content, gain meaningful practice with scientific process skills, and confront their misconceptions. Additionally, they will gain scientific habits-of-mind (such as the ability to visualize, contemplate, and explain complex concepts and phenomena) that are both encouraged in the recent reform documents and necessary for future careers in science.

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