Students’ foraging through the complexities of the particulate world in the Connected Chemistry (MAC) curriculum

In this paper, we describe five design principles that governed the design of the Connected Chemistry Curriculum and describe classroom research we conducted to evaluate the design. In the Modeling Across the Curriculum (MAC) project, high-school students explore computer models in science that are embedded in a supporting script. The Connected Chemistry curriculum focuses on topics in chemistry and employs multi-agent NetLogo models (Wilensky, 1999) to enable students in self-directed inquiry: manipulating and observing interactions between objects at the molecular level in order to gain insight into emergent patterns and macroscopic phenomena. We describe the curriculum, using examples to illustrate its design principles in action with a particular focus on three design principles: the importance of the process of modeling, making connections between different levels of description, differentiating between equilibrium and processes of change in the system.