The Impact of Virtual Lab Learning Experiences on 9th Grade Students’ Achievement and Their Attitudes Towards Science and Learning by Virtual Lab

Abstract

Laboratories are important environments in science teaching. There is no doubt that the employment of technology in these environments may change the learning of science, especially as the technology has made its way into nearly every aspect of daily life. This study aimed to investigate the impact of using virtual labs on students' achievement and as well as their attitudes towards science and learning by virtual lab. Achievement pre and posttest and attitudes scale towards science were examined for 69 students divided into two control and experimental groups. Another attitude scale towards virtual labs was only administered to the experimental group. The results indicate that the virtual lab has no impact on students’ academic achievement or their attitudes towards science. The results show that the students had overall positive attitudes toward learning by virtual lab. Some recommendations and suggestions are proposed to develop effective learning of science.