Impact of Virtual Laboratory on the Achievement of Secondary School Chemistry Students in Homogeneous and Heterogeneous Collaborative Environments - Research study

Oct 15, 2026

The study investigates how virtual laboratory instruction affects secondary school chemistry achievement in homogeneous versus heterogeneous cooperative learning environments in Minna, Niger State, Nigeria. Using stratified sampling, 60 SS II students from two schools were assigned to experimental groups with pretest and posttest measures. Data were collected with an expert-validated 20-item Chemistry Achievement Test. Reliability reached 0.91, and hypotheses were tested using ANCOVA and Sidak at 0.05 significance.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages18

Reading Time45 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Practical chemistry and learning outcomes

Role of ICT and virtual laboratories

Virtual laboratories vs real laboratories

Collaborative learning and group composition

Impact of Virtual Laboratory on the Achievement of Secondary School Chemistry Students in Homogeneous and Heterogeneous Collaborative Environments Amosa Isiaka Gambari, Halima Kawu, Oluwole Caleb Falode Federal University of Technology, Nigeria Submitted: 23.01.2017 Accepted: 13.06.2018 Published: 16.07.2018 Abstract The study investigated the impact of virtual laboratory on the achievements of secondary school chemistry students in homogeneous and heterogeneous collaborative settings in Minna, Niger state, Nigeria. Three hypotheses were formulated, analyzed and tested at 0.05 alpha level. Stratified sampling technique was used to select 60 Senior Secondary Class Two (SS II) Chemistry Students. The subjects were stratified along gender and ability levels. Sixty students were randomly selected from two secondary schools in Minna, Nigeria. Thirty students (male, n = 15; female, n = 15) were selected from each school. Pretest, posttest, and experimental group design was employed. Experts validated 20-item multiple-choice Chemistry Achievement Test (CAT) was used for data collection. A reliability coefficient of 0.91 was obtained from the pilot testing using Kuder Richardson (KR-20) . ANCOVA and Sidak post-hoc statistics were used for testing the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The results showed that: (a) students in homogeneous ability grouping taught Chemistry using virtual laboratory instruction in collaborative setting performed better than their counterpart taught Chemistry in heterogeneous grouping composition; (b) female students in homogeneous group performed better than their counterparts in heterogeneous groups; (c) the higher achiever students in homogeneous groups outperformed those in heterogeneous groups. Based on these findings, it was recommended that the use of virtual laboratory instruction in homogeneous gender and ability level grouping in collaborative setting should be encouraged in teaching practical chemistry at senior secondary schools in Nigeria. Keywords: Virtual laboratory; Cooperative group composition; Collaborative setting; Gender; Ability grouping Introduction In chemistry education, laboratory activities increase students’ interest in the subject mattersand help their learning. Practice makes students to attain a high level of conception which could results into meaningful learning. Knowledge of Practical Chemistry helps in producing skilled technicians for industry and highly competent workers for research laboratories (Josephsen & Kristensen, 2006) . It also helps students in understanding theories and chemical principles which are abstract in nature. Practical knowledge assists students to handle chemicals safely and with confidence; gain hands-on experience in using instruments and apparatus; develop scientific thinking and enthusiasm to chemistry; develop basic manipulative and problem solving skills; gain opportunities to students as investigators of the experimental work; identify chemical hazards and learn to assess and control risks associated with chemicals (Garcia-Luque, Ortega, Forja, and Gomez-Perra, 2004; Shin, Yoon, Lee, & Lee, 2002) . Regrettably, the performance of students in Practical Chemistry which supposed to enhance a meaningful learning is very poor in Nigeria due to lack of laboratories at schools or insufficient laboratory facilities. Therefore, hands-on practical experiments are rarely performed in some public schools in Nigeria. Thus, such experiments can be virtually done as a result of recent developments in Educational Technology. Crucial to the actualization of educational technology goal is the usage of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) resources. Therefore, virtual laboratory environment is an aspect of Educational Technology. Virtual laboratory is a preferable alternative, or simply a supportive learning environment to real laboratories. It provides students with opportunities such as enriching their learning experienc

FAQs

What was the main purpose of the study?

To examine the impact of virtual laboratory instruction on secondary school chemistry students’ achievements in homogeneous and heterogeneous collaborative settings.

How many students and what sampling approach were used?

Sixty SS II chemistry students were selected using stratified sampling based on gender and ability levels, with students drawn from two secondary schools in Minna.

Which assessment tools and statistical methods were used?

A 20-item Chemistry Achievement Test (CAT) was used after expert validation, with reliability of 0.91. ANCOVA and Sidak post-hoc tests were applied at the 0.05 significance level.

Oct 15, 2026

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