Date of Award
2018
Document Type
Dissertation
Selected Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Degree Name
Doctor of Education (EdD)
Institution
Hofstra University
First Advisor
Dr. Bruce Torff, Chair of Dissertation Committee
Abstract
A study was conducted to investigate the extent to which previous science achievement affected student performance in traditional hands-on and virtual laboratory environments. A sample of 70 first-year college students was employed in a counterbalanced A-B-A-B experimental design. The study spanned four instructional weeks of laboratory experimentation alternating traditional and virtual learning environments. For each of the four labs, students were given a pre-test designed to measure content knowledge, administered the intervention of virtual labs, and this was followed by an identical post-test. Prior science achievement was assessed using a general chemistry assessment exam. T-tests revealed that student performance did not differ between the hands-on and virtual environments. Results of a MANOVA showed that virtual labs were more effective than hands-on labs for high-achieving students, whereas there was no difference for low-achieving students. Results of a second MANOVA revealed that high-achieving students outperformed low-achieving students on hands-on lab 3, virtual lab 3, and hands-on lab 4. Findings suggest that the use of virtual labs does not harm science achievement and may conserve resources, but may expand the gap between high- and low-achieving students in the science laboratory. A study was conducted to investigate the extent to which previous science achievement affected student performance in traditional hands-on and virtual laboratory environments. A sample of 70 first-year college students was employed in a counterbalanced A-B-A-B experimental design. The study spanned four instructional weeks of laboratory experimentation alternating traditional and virtual learning environments. For each of the four labs, students were given a pre-test designed to measure content knowledge, administered the intervention of virtual labs, and this was followed by an identical post-test. Prior science achievement was assessed using a general chemistry assessment exam. T-tests revealed that student performance did not differ between the hands-on and virtual environments. Results of a MANOVA showed that virtual labs were more effective than hands-on labs for high-achieving students, whereas there was no difference for low-achieving students. Results of a second MANOVA revealed that high-achieving students outperformed low-achieving students on hands-on lab 3, virtual lab 3, and hands-on lab 4. Findings suggest that the use of virtual labs does not harm science achievement and may conserve resources, but may expand the gap between high- and low-achieving students in the science laboratory.
Related Pillar(s)
Study
Recommended Citation
Marino, Michael A. Ed.D., "Virtual and Hands-on Laboratory Environments in the Science Classroom: The Effect of Prior Science Achievement" (2018). Theses & Dissertations: Molloy Faculty. 3.
https://digitalcommons.molloy.edu/etd_fac/3
