PHET INTERACTIVE SIMULATIONS ON THE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF ELECTROMAGNETIC INDUCTION IN SENIOR SECONDARY STUDENTS IN THE PORT HARCOURT LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, RIVERS STATE

This quasi-experimental study investigated the effects of PhET Interactive Simulations on the academic performance of senior secondary school students in electromagnetic induction. A non-equivalent pretest–posttest control group design was used. Ninety (90) Senior Secondary School II (SS2) physics students from two intact classes in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria, participated in the study: 45 students in the experimental group were taught using PhET simulations, and 45 students in the control group were taught using the conventional lecture method. The EIPT, a 40-item researcher-developed instrument with a reliability coefficient of r = .83 (Kuder–Richardson Formula 20), served as the data collection instrument. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and one-way analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) with pretest scores as the covariate. The results indicated that students in the PhET simulation group achieved significantly higher post-test scores than those in the control group. PhETInteractive Simulations are an effective instructional tool for improving students understanding of abstract electromagnetic concepts in senior secondary schools. The implications for physics pedagogy, curriculum design, and technology integration in resource-constrained settings are discussed.