(1) Cognitive Technology Lab, Department of Psychology, Seconda Università di Napoli, Naples, Italy;(2) Laboratory of Artificial Life and Robotics, Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, National Research Council, Rome, Italy;(3) Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller Institute for Production Technology, University of Southern Denmark, 5230 Odense M, Denmark
Abstract:
This paper presents a pilot study on the use of artificial life software in an educational setting. Two groups of high school students received a standard lesson in evolutionary biology followed by a software session. The experimental group used the suite of artificial life software presented in this paper; the control group used a commercial multimedia hypertext. At the end of the software session both groups were asked to fill in a simple multiple-choice questionnaire testing the students knowledge of various aspects of evolutionary biology. The results show that the group using the artificial life software performed significantly better than the control group. We argue that the experimental group may learn more effectively because the artificial life makes it possible for students to perform experiments, a possibility not available to the control group.
knowledge of various aspects of evolutionary biology. The results show that the group using the artificial life software performed significantly better than the control group. We argue that the experimental group may learn more effectively because the artificial life makes it possible for students to perform experiments, a possibility not available to the control group.