Effects of the Physical Laboratory versus the Virtual Laboratory in Teaching Simple Electric Circuits on Conceptual Achievement and Attitudes towards the Subject

Abstract

Current study examined the effects of virtual and physical laboratory practices on students’ conceptual achievement in the subject of electricity and their attitudes towards simple electric circuits. Two groups (virtual and physical) selected through simple random sampling was taught with web-aided material called “Electricity in Our Lives”. Quasi experimental research design was used in the study and “Simple Electric Circuits Achievement Test” composed of three dimensions (CCAB, FCC and RCE) and “Attitude Scale for Simple Electric Circuits” composed of five dimensions were given to the groups are pre and posttests. It was identified that conceptual achievement significantly differed in the CCAB and RCE dimensions of the virtual laboratory implementations on the basis of total scores compared to the physical group whereas no meaningful differences were detected in the FCC dimension. It was also found that virtual laboratory implementations did not generate differences in student attitudes towards simple electric circuits

Keywords

• virtual laboratory, elementary science, achievement, electricity subject