Experiential Learning as a Pedagogical Strategy: Improving Secondary Students’ Affective Outcomes in Physics

Abstract This research explores how an experiential approach to teaching Physics influences secondary school students’ affective learning dimensions, namely engagement, confidence, interest, and their sense of the subject’s relevance. A quasi-experimental design using pre-test and post-test measures with control and experimental groups was employed. Participants included 66 Grade 10 students from a CBSE-affiliated school, evenly assigned to traditional instruction (control) and experiential instruction (treatment). Over a period of six months, the experimental group engaged in inquiry-based tasks, collaborative projects, and practical experiments directly linked to curriculum topics. A structured Likert-scale survey was used to assess students’ attitudes across the four domains at both stages. Findings indicated minimal variation in the control group, whereas the experimental group exhibited substantial and statistically significant gains in all dimensions. Post-test averages increased markedly—interest (3.0 → 4.4), confidence (3.1 → 4.5), engagement (3.1 → 4.5), and relevance (3.2 → 4.6)—with paired t-tests yielding p-values < 0.001. Effect size statistics (Cohen’s d between 0.9 and 1.2) further highlighted strong practical significance. Overall, the study underscores those experiential strategies not only enhance students’ performance but also cultivate favourable attitudes toward Physics, rendering it more relatable, accessible, and meaningful. The outcomes strongly support embedding experiential methods within science instruction to advance both affective and cognitive domains of learning. Keywords: Affective Learning, Motivation in Science, Inquiry-Based Learning, Hands-on Activities, Physics Curriculum, Learning Outcomes, Secondary Education, experiential learning, CBSE