The Optimum Equilibrium when Using Experiments in Teaching – Where Virtual and Real Labs Stand in Science and Engineering Teaching Practice

Abstract

The present study compares the relative merits of virtual and real educational laboratories in science and engineering education, in terms of their educational effectiveness and if they were the most appropriate for learning. The age of the students was also investigates as a possible factor affecting the outcome. The authors of the present paper started by identifying 67 recent and mutually compatible research papers (articles, doctoral theses, and reviews) and reviewed their content performing a meta-study to discover their findings about the most effective laboratory type. Web-based tools were used, such as e-journals, databases, thematic guides, and portals, catalogues of other libraries offered by a variety of universities. A critical analysis followed to compare findings and reach decisions. In a corollary section of the study, the authors conducted some semi-structured discussions with 25 experienced science teachers of secondary, primary and tertiary education, for verification purposes. Discussions followed, all participants being arranged in 5 different groups, focusing on still open topics in need of further clarification. The present two-prong analysis resulted in a number of interesting results, presented herein, on the relative effectiveness of virtual and real laboratories as a factor of student age.

The effectiveness of physical and virtual manipulatives on learning and motivation in structural engineering

“…It should be taken into account that, in our study, age variations are small (the standard deviation for students' age is 2.2 years). Thus, the conclusions of previous studies (e.g., Tsichouridis et al, 2019) comparing different age levels (children vs. adolescents vs. adults) are not useful in order to interpret this age effect since the participants in our study are all at the same educational level.…”

“…One possible explanation for this lack of effect, according to the embodied cognition theory, is that the students in the virtual condition had, by past experiences, internalized the relevant perceptual knowledge that the structural kit would have given them. We must keep in mind that the majority of studies wherein a physical-virtual effect was found were the studies with young children (Lazonder & Ehrenhard, 2014;Tsichouridis et al, 2019;Zacharia et al, 2012), while in our study, the participants were university-level adults. Adults, unlike children, would have probably embodied the relevant perceptual knowledge from prior physical experiences (De Jong et al, 2013), in which case the presence of touch sensory feedback is no longer a necessary condition for improved understanding.…”

“…In a meta‐analysis covering research comparing physical and virtual labs from the past 10 years, Tsichouridis et al (2019) concluded that, in primary education, physical materials were found in most cases to be more effective for learning than virtual ones, while in secondary and university education, both modes of experimentation were, in general, equally effective.…”

A Simple and Low-Cost, but Naturalistic Method for Introducing Students to Action Potentials

“…Consider, for instance, a simple in vivo demonstration of an action potential. The standard setup for this type of demonstration comprises several items, such as micromanipulator, microscope, stimulator, oscilloscope, amplifier, and data acquisition software, whose total cost is around US $ Although simulators have a demonstrated utility as a teaching tool in biology [15][16][17], many educators believe that they cannot replace the vivid, active and holistic experience of laboratory demonstrations (NRC 2006, NSTA, 2007.…”

Developing procedural knowledge in secondary education students

“…Therefore, the present pilot study focuses on examining a) if there is a significant improvement in the procedural knowledge of senior high school students after being subjected to an inquiry-based Teaching Learning Sequence (TLS) utilizing an open virtual laboratory environment in AC electric circuits, in which experimental procedures are explicitly taught and b) if there is a correlation between procedural and cognitive knowledge development after the implementation of this TLS. Answering these questions may help teachers design instruction more efficiently in order to assist students in secondary education in exploring physical phenomena by themselves in a laboratory environment, perceive them in their own personal way and acquire deeper understanding and longer retention of knowledge [9].…”