Computer simulations have been used very effectively for many years in the teaching of science but the focus has been on cognitive development. This study, however, is an investigation into the possibility that a student's experimental skills in the real-world environment can be judged via the undertaking of a suitably chosen computer simulation…

Discusses use of microcomputers for structuring, communicating, and disseminating information under the categories of instructional use (computer-assisted instruction), emancipation (number crunching), revelatory (discovery/simulation), and conjectural (hypothesis testing). Also discusses use of PROLOG language for modeling ecosystems and testing…