The Effects of Virtual Laboratory on Students' Academic Performance, Attitude, and Motivation Towards Learning Junior High School Biology

Date of Award

5-1-2023

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Science Education

First Advisor

Catherine Genevieve B. Lagunzad, PhD

Abstract

The public educational institutions in the Philippines are facing one of the significant challenges in science education which is the lack of laboratory facilities and equipment that leads to the difficulty in conducting laboratory activities. Laboratory activities are fundamental aspect of biology and other science education. The importance of laboratory activities is anchored on the needs of the students to have experiential learning of the scientific procedures to acquire the K-12 curriculum learning competencies, and develop necessary skills such as scientific, intellectual and innovative skills. The fast development of technology paved the way for virtual laboratories which potentially provide opportunities for public educational institutions to address the lack of physical laboratory facilities and equipment. The use of virtual laboratories in biology provides accessible, inclusive, flexible, and economical opportunities to students to engaged in experiential learning through condensed models of real-world processes and occurrences through visuals, animations, and simulations. However, few research in the Philippine context have been done with the use of virtual laboratories in chemistry and physics but lacks exploration and study on the use of virtual laboratory in biology classes specific for the context of basic education. To address this gap of information, the study aims to determine the effects of virtual laboratories on Grade 10 students’ academic performance, attitude, and motivation towards learning junior high school biology specifically on the topics in heredity. The study used a mixed method of quasi-experimental design and qualitative analysis of the students’ responses in the open-ended questionnaire. Two class sections were purposely matched into groups of the no virtual laboratory learning group and the virtual laboratory learning group with 50 students in each group.

The results showed that the students in both groups have improved their academic performance, attitude, and motivation towards learning junior high school biology. However, the statistical analysis shows that the virtual laboratory learning group has significant higher academic performance compared to the no virtual laboratory learning group. Moreover, the virtual laboratory learning group has significantly shown more positive attitude and motivation towards learning biology than the no virtual laboratory learning group. Furthermore, a low positive correlation was determined between the students’ (1) academic performance and attitude, (2) academic performance and motivation, and (3) attitude and motivation. The students in the virtual laboratory learning group perceived that the used of virtual laboratory in biology classes aid in their understanding of concepts and makes learning fun and meaningful. Based on the overall quantitative and qualitative results, the integration of the virtual laboratory in biology aid in the students’ acquisition of the essential learning competencies and skills required in the K-12 curriculum, may have caused the development of higher and lower order thinking skills, and potentially enhance affective learning which includes students’ attitude and motivation.

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