JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Experimentation is a cornerstone of chemistry education, serving as the bridge between theoretical concepts and practical understanding. However, conducting experiments in real laboratory requires reagents and instruments, which can be challenging to access consistently. Virtual technologies provide valuable alternative which provides simulate real-world chemical experiments using computer software.

Objective:

This study aimed to investigate the effect of virtual laboratories on undergraduate students' academic achievement in practical chemistry, addressing issues in conventional university labs.

Methods:

A quasi-experimental design with a quantitative approach was used. The study included a purposive sample of 60 Bachelor of Science chemistry students. Teaching methods included real laboratories, virtual laboratory simulations, and lecture-only. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics, including mean, standard deviation, one-way analysis of variance (ANNOVA), Tukey's honest significance test as well as independent sample test, and a p-value of .05 determined as the level of significance.

Results:

The findings showed no significant differences in achievement among the groups before the intervention (P=0.995). After the intervention, significant differences were observed (P=0.000) in one-way ANOVA analysis, with the real lab group having the highest mean score. However, the Pairwise comparisons revealed no statistically significant difference between the real and virtual lab groups (P=0.109), but the virtual lab group significantly outperformed the lecture-only group (P=0.001). Gender did not influence achievement in the virtual lab group

Conclusions:

These results suggest that universities should prioritize virtual labs for practical courses due to their effectiveness in enhancing student achievement and providing a viable alternative when real labs are unavailable.