Computers in support of conceptual learning

The Hewlett-Packard Company and the European Community came in support of the project CoLoS (Conceptual Learning of Science) which promised to address the issue raised in the title of this talk: Can the computers really play a role in conveying concepts to the student? It was clear that the computers with their nonjudgmental and inexhaustible patience were highly effective in supporting the development of skills, i.e., the kind of knowledge that is acquired by repetition and practice. But it was questionable whether the computers could support the acquisition of deep understanding which underlies innovative and problem solving activity. The majority of natural phenomena whose conceptual comprehension was sought was recognized to originate in collective behaviour of a multitude of participants such as molecules and atoms and their constituents. Furthermore it became clear that the fundamental principles which govern the mutual interaction of such particles could be directly imposed on them by the use of computers. The resulting displays promised to contain the desired phenomena and at the same time to reveal the underlying mechanisms. The conceptual comprehension would thereby be served in the most direct way