The Effect of Digital Technology Integration on High School Students' Cognitive Physics Learning Outcomes

Digital technology has expanded opportunities to support physics learning, yet its cognitive benefits depend on how technological affordances are integrated into pedagogy. This study examined the effect of pedagogically structured digital technology integration on senior high school students’ cognitive physics learning outcomes and investigated whether the effect differed across cognitive dimensions. A quantitative quasi-experimental nonequivalent control group design was employed with 74 students, comprising 38 students in an experimental group and 36 in a control group. Both groups completed pretests and posttests, while the experimental group received a structured digital learning sequence involving interactive exploration, guided investigation, collaborative problem solving, digital formative assessment, and feedback-based reflection. Cognitive achievement was analyzed using descriptive statistics and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), with pretest achievement as the covariate, complemented by a non-parametric sensitivity analysis. The experimental group showed a higher posttest mean than the control group (69.45 vs. 56.82) and substantially greater normalized gain (0.34 vs. 0.07). After controlling for baseline achievement, instructional condition had a significant and large effect on posttest cognitive achievement, F (1,71) =89.80, p<.001, partial η²=.558, with an adjusted mean difference of 12.67 points. Dimension-level analysis revealed significant effects for applying, analyzing, and evaluating, while understanding did not reach statistical significance. The strongest effects occurred for analyzing and evaluating. These findings indicate that digital technology is most effective when deliberately aligned with cognitively demanding physics instruction and systematic formative feedback throughout learning.