Assessing Pre-Service Teachers' Reception and Attitudes towards Virtual Laboratory Experiments in Life Sciences.

M Penn, L Mavuru - Journal of Baltic Science Education, 2020 - ceeol.com
Journal of Baltic Science Education, 2020ceeol.com
This research reports the assessment of pre-service teachers' reception and attitudes
towards virtual laboratory experiments in Life Sciences with the aim of advancing
adaptability to digital learning. Using sequential mixed-methods in a quasi-experimental
design, 68 pre-service teachers in the 3rd year of a Bachelor of Education (B. Ed) program
were surveyed before and after virtual learning interventions. This phase was followed by
qualitative data gathering using focus group interviews with all participants. Findings from …
This research reports the assessment of pre-service teachers’ reception and attitudes towards virtual laboratory experiments in Life Sciences with the aim of advancing adaptability to digital learning. Using sequential mixed-methods in a quasi-experimental design, 68 pre-service teachers in the 3rd year of a Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) program were surveyed before and after virtual learning interventions. This phase was followed by qualitative data gathering using focus group interviews with all participants. Findings from quantitative data analysis revealed a positive significant difference in pre-service teachers’ attitudes towards virtual laboratory experiments post learning interventions. From qualitative data pre-service teachers found the progression from using only traditional to including virtual experiments was useful in enhancing their conceptual understandings of Life Sciences concepts, convenience, inquiry-based learning, self-directed and autonomous learning. However, pre-service teachers noted that using virtual laboratories did not significantly develop their science process skills and as a result could not replace the experiences in a traditional biology laboratory. The implications of these findings project virtual laboratories as a supporting tool for experimentation in Life Sciences especially within and post the COVID-19 pandemic where issues of social distancing pose a threat to collaborative and inquiry-based science learning. Recommendations from these findings are discussed herein.
Central and Eastern European Online Library
以上显示的是最相近的搜索结果。 查看全部搜索结果