Development and Validation of Manipulatives for Home-based Physics Experiments

Abstract

The major intention of this study is to design and validate manipulatives for homebased physics experiments. The Covid-19 pandemic has caused tremendous and rapid amendments to educational systems worldwide, immediately shifting from traditional on-the-ground teaching to virtual classroom instruction or modular learning approach to name a few. Similarly, it has made laboratory experiments problematic. Demonstrations are limited just to the four corners of the electronic gadget’s screen, while simulations can only do so much in terms of experiential learning; hence, the urgency of developing these low-cost laboratory kits for students’ use at home. The laboratory activities and kits went through thorough examination for validation by 3 experts in the field of Physics, all of them holding Masters-degree. The setup was found to be valid (overall mean of 4.67 from a 5-point Likert scale validation tool). The effectiveness, in terms of the performance of learners, was established using quasi-experimental methods involving 30 students (15 males and 15 females) in the control group and 30 learners (15 males and 15 females) in the experimental group. The control group was exposed to customary lectures via online classes with virtual simulations. The students in the experimental group attended the same online lectures and were provided with the home-based manipulative kit. The analysis and interpretation of data collected from the pretest-posttest scores of the student participants revealed that the laboratory manipulative kits are effective and highly acceptable. The normalized gain of the experimental group (g = 0.82, high gain) was significantly higher than that of the control group (g = 0.45, medium gain).