Date of Award

2017

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Education

Abstract

The current study compared the effects of virtual versus physical laboratory manipulatives on 84 undergraduate non-science majors (a) conceptual understanding of density and (b) density-related inquiry skill acquisition. A pre-post comparison study design was used, which incorporated all components of an inquiry-guided classroom, except experimental mode, and which controlled for curriculum, instructor, instructional method, time spent on task, and availability of reference resources. Participants were randomly assigned to either a physical or virtual lab group. Pre- and post-assessments of conceptual understanding and inquiry skills were administered to both groups. Paired-samples t tests revealed a significant mean percent correct score increase for conceptual understanding in both the physical lab group ( M = .103, SD = .168), t (38) = -3.82, p < .001, r = .53, two-tailed, and the virtual lab group ( M = .084, SD = .177), t (44) = -3.20, p = .003, r = .43, two-tailed. However, a one-way ANCOVA (using pretest scores as the covariate) revealed that the main effect of lab group on conceptual learning gains was not significant, F (1, 81) = 0.081, p = .776, two-tailed. An omnibus test of model coefficients within hierarchical logistic regression revealed that a correct response on inquiry pretest scores was not a significant predictor of a correct post-test response, χ 2 (1, N = 84) = 1.68, p = .195, and that when lab mode was added to the model, it did not significantly increase the models predictive ability, χ 2 (2, N = 84) = 1.95, p = .377. Thus, the data in the current study revealed no significant difference in the effect of physical versus virtual manipulatives when used to teach conceptual understanding and inquiry skills related to density.

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