Microworlds

Synonyms

Simulation; Virtual lab

The term microworld was first introduced by Seymour Papert as part of the pedagogical philosophy of constructionism. To Papert, a microworld is a “…subset[s] of reality or a constructed reality so … as to allow a human learner to exercise particular powerful ideas or intellectual skills” (Papert 1980, p. 204). In this definition, microworlds are very open-ended in pedagogical style. Typically, microworlds are models of scientific or social phenomena that represent the domain-specific properties and conceptual representations of the phenomena of interest, thereby providing perceptual affordances and conceptual levers to the learner.

The degree of structure used to guide students’ activities in learning environments, particularly those involving microworlds, is a topic that has been debated in science education, where some have encouraged open-ended exploration by students (as does Papert), and others have offered guidance or structure within the...