Virtual Laboratory in Chemistry - Experimental Study of Understanding, Reproduction and Application of Acquired Knowledge of Subject's Chemical Content

• Authors: Nataša Herga , Dejan Dinevski
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

Traditional teaching does not often allow very active involvement of pupils in class. In chemistry and natural sciences in general experimental and laboratory work is one of the most effective methods for acquiring knowledge. Experimental work can also be exercised using virtual world. Virtual laboratory offers some important advantages. Understanding chemistry involves the ability of cognitive comprehension on three levels: the macroscopic level, the symbolic level and the level of particles where the virtual laboratory can be an effective tool. On this basis a didactic experiment was performed in order to verify the effectiveness of virtual laboratory from pupils' knowledge point of view. The experiment involved seventh grade pupils (N = 38). Furthermore, we tried to answer the question whether the learning results of pupils, according to the experimental design of classes using a virtual laboratory, are better than results gained through teaching classical science classes without visualization tools. The research of the didactic experiment carried out on a relatively small, pilot sample of pupils has shown that acquiring knowledge is more effective when using the virtual laboratory instead of classical teaching (in the case when classical approach does not include visualization elements crucial for learning and understanding chemistry).

Keywords

EN

virtual laboratory; science; chemical and visual literacy; knowledge

• Publisher: Sciendo
• Journal: Organizacija
• Year: 2012
• Volume: 45
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 108-116

Dates

published

2012-05-01

online

2012-06-14

Contributors

author

Nataša Herga

• OŠ Ormož, Hardek 5, 2270 Ormož, Slovenia

author

Dejan Dinevski

• Faculty of Education, University of Maribor, Koroška c. 160, Maribor, Slovenia

References

• Abdulwahed, M. & Nagy, Z. (2009). Applying Kolb's Experiential Learning Cycle for Laboratory Education. Journal of Engineering Education, 98 (3): 283-293. Retrieved March 5, 2012, from http://www.jee.org/2009/july/7.pdf [WoS][Crossref]
• Anderson, T. (2007). The Theory and practice of online learning. Athabasca University: AU Press.
• Barke, H. D. & Wirbs, H. (2002). Structural units and chemical formulae. Chemistry Education: Research and Practice in Europe, 3 (2): 185-200. Retrieved March 5, 2012, from http://www.jee.org/2009/july/7.pdf
• Chin, K. L. (1999). The development of Web-based teaching system for engineering education. Engineering Science and Education Journal, 3 (8): 115-118. DOI: 10.1049/esej:19990304[Crossref]
• Dalgarno, B. & Lee, J. W. M. (2010). What are the learning affordances of 3-D virtual environments? British Journal of Educational Techonology, 41 (1): 10-32. DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8535.2009.01038.x[Crossref][WoS]
• Devetak, I., Vogrinc, J. & Glažar, S. A. (2009). Assesing 16-year old students' understanding of aqueous solution on at submicroscopic level. Research in Science Education, 39 (2): 157-179. DOI: 10.1007/s11165-007-9077-2[Crossref]
• Georgiou, J., Dimitropoulos, K. & Manitsaris, A. (2007). A Virtual Reality Laboratory for Distance Education in Chemistry. International Journal of Social Sciences, 2 (1): 306-313. Retrieved March 5, 2012, from http://www.waset.org/journals/ijshs/v1/v1-56.pdf
• Grimaldi, D. & Rapuano, S. (2009). Hardware and software to design virtual laboratory for education in instrumentation and measurement. Measurement, 42 (4): 485-493. DOI: 10.1016/j.measurement.2008.09.003[Crossref]
• Johnstone, A., H. (1991). Why is science difficult to learn: Things are seldom what they seem. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 7: 75-83. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2729.1991.tb00230.x[Crossref]
• Kirschner, P. & Huisman, W. (1998). »Dry laboratories« in science education; computer based practical work. International Journal of Science Education, 20 (6): 665-682, DOI: 10.1080/0950069980200605[Crossref]
• Puhek, M. (2009). Interaktivne računalniške simulacije bioloških laboratorijskih vaj. [Interactive computer simulations of biological laboratory exercises.] Diploma assignment, University of Maribor, Faculty of Natural Science and Mathematics.
• Rajendran, L., Veilumuthu, R. & Divya, J. (2010). A study on the effectiveness of virtual lab in E-learning. International Journal on Computer Science and Engineering, 2 (6): 2173-2175. Retrieved March 5, 2012, from http://www.enggjournals.com/ijcse/doc/IJCSE10-02-06-91.pdf
• Šorgo, A. & Špernjak, A. (2007). Profesorice bi morale biti zgoraj brez ali kaj spremeniti v pouku biologije. [Professor should be topless or change something in biology class.], Vzgoja in izobraževanje, 38 (5): 37-40.
• Šorgo, A., Verčkovnik, T. & Kocijančič, S. (2007). Laboratorijsko delo pri pouku biologije v slovenskih srednjih šolah. [Laboratory work in biology teaching at Slovenian secondary schools]. Acta Biologica Slovenica, 50 (2): 113-124.
• Sun, K., Lin, Y. & Yu, C. (2008). A study on learning effect among different learning styles in a Web-based lab of science for elementary school students. Computers & Education, 50: 1411-1422. DOI: 10.1016/j.compedu.2007.01.003[Crossref][WoS]
• Vrtačnik, M., Ferk, V., Fir, M., Dolničar, D., Renič, V., Potisk, B. & Pozderec, N. (2003). Dinamična vizualizacija naravoslovnih pojmov s poskusi in modeli. [Dynamic visualization of scientific concepts, experiments and models]. Ljubljana: University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Engineering.
• Zimmerer, C., Thiele, S., Slazer, R., Krauseneck, A. & Körndle, H. (2003). Internet Teaching: Laboratory Course in Analytical Chemistry. Microchima Acta, 142: 153-159. DOI: 10.1007/s00604-003-0012-6[Crossref]

Identifiers

DOI

10.2478/v10051-012-0011-7