The effect of virtual laboratory applications on the achievement of secondary school students in teaching the granular structure of matter

Abstract Purpose: The objective of this study is to investigate the impact of virtual laboratory applications on students' performance in the teaching of the subject matter "Particulate Structure of Matter" to middle school students. Design and Methodology: The study was conducted in two public educational establishments. The study sample comprised 191 seventh-grade students. The study employed a quasi-experimental design, utilising a pre-test-post-test control group. The study employed an achievement test as the primary data collection instrument. The subject of "Particulate Structure of Matter" was taught using the methods prescribed by the current curriculum for the control group and a computer-aided virtual laboratory application for the experimental group. The data were subjected to quantitative analysis using the SPSS data analysis program, and the results were obtained. Independent groups t-test analyses were conducted to examine the differences between the means in the data obtained from the experimental and control groups. Results: The findings revealed that the results were statistically significant at p<0.05. Consequently, it was concluded that there was a significant difference in favour of the experimental group and that virtual laboratory applications were more effective in teaching the subject of particulate structure of matter to middle school students. Implications & Suggestions: A comparative analysis of the implementation and impact of virtual laboratory applications can be conducted by examining the differences between interactive and non-interactive applications.