Virtual simulators as a strategy for developing skills in teaching physics in higher education: a systematic literature review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55204/trc.v6i2.e699Keywords:
virtual simulators, virtual laboratories, physics teaching, competency development, higher education, systematic reviewAbstract
At present, virtual simulators have become consolidated as a teaching strategy for physics education in higher education, as they allow abstract phenomena to be visualized, overcome the limitations of face-to-face laboratories and foster the development of competencies in students. The aim of this systematic literature review is to characterize the scientific production on virtual simulators as a strategy for competency development in physics teaching in higher education. To this end, the model of Newman and Gough (2020) was adopted, supported by the PRISMA 2020 statement, and search equations were applied in the Scopus and Web of Science databases to documents published between 2015 and 2026 in English and Spanish, resulting in 38 included articles. The results show that PhET is the most widely used simulator; that the most addressed content is electricity and electric circuits; that the most reported competencies are practical laboratory skills, conceptual understanding and problem solving; that inquiry-based learning predominates as the teaching strategy, and that most studies report positive effects on students' academic achievement and skills, although with an emerging trend towards the integration of artificial intelligence. The implications of these findings for university physics teaching are discussed.Downloads
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