Assessing Students’ Approaches and Perceptions to Learning in Physics Experiments Based on Simulations and At-Home Lab Kits

Kumbirai Mabwe,Edward T Chiyaka,Alec Sithole

doi:10.5539/hes.v12n1p96

Abstract

Our study evaluates students&rsquo; approaches to and perceptions of the use of hands-on at-home laboratory kits (HALK) experiments, open-source computer-based simulations (OSCBS), and their combination (OSCBS-HALK) in undergraduate introductory asynchronous online physics courses. Anonymous survey data from students who had completed online physics courses with labs based on simulations, at-home lab kits, or both were collected using a modified version of the Learn Questionnaire (MVLQ). Findings in this study indicate that among the six scales (interest and relevance; peer support; staff enthusiasm and support; teaching for understanding; alignment; and constructive feedback) used to measure students&rsquo; perceptions of the teaching and learning environments, interest and relevance, peer support, and teaching for understanding had statistically significant different means across the three lab types. Post-hoc comparisons using the Tukey HSD test for the interest and relevance scale indicated that students viewed using a combination approach of OSCBS and HALK labs (M = 3.98, SD = 0.61) more significantly positive than using computer-simulated labs only (M = 3.56, SD = 0.75). Compared to other labs, computer-simulated labs were perceived to lead to a deep approach to learning. However, they had the lowest interest and relevance, peer support, and alignment ranking among the three lab groups. Thus, developing strategies to improve students&rsquo; engagement and ability to translate the simulations into physical processes is recommended for OSCBS.

Highlights

1.1 The Need for Physics ExperienceLaboratory activities form the fundamental experimental foundation and an inductive process through which students learn how to perform physics investigations
We evaluated the perceptions of the teaching-learning and approaches to learning for undergraduate physics students using open-source computer-based simulations (OSCBS), hands-on at-home laboratory kits (HALK), or their combination (OSCBS-HALK) to fulfill the lab component of their course
OSCBS labs promoted a deep approach to learning compared to HALK activities, students‟ perceptions of alignment, motivation, and peer support were relatively low

Summary

Introduction

Laboratory activities form the fundamental experimental foundation and an inductive process through which students learn how to perform physics investigations. Studies have shown that perceptions and approaches to learning are dependent on learning environments (Asikainen et al, 2014; Campbell et al, 2001; Entwistle et al, 1993; Entwistle et al, 2003; Herrmann et al, 2017; Struyven et al, 2005). Studies persistently show that students' perceptions and approaches to learning influence their understanding content (Al-Qahtani, 2015; Campbell et al, 2001; Lizzio et al, 2002; Richardson, 2005; Tudor et al, 2010).

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