Abstract
This study investigated the effects of Physical and Virtual Laboratories on the Attitude of secondary school students’ attitude towards learning Geography in North Central Nigeria. The study adopted a quasi-experimental research design. The sample size of the research consisted of 768 students from 12 secondary schools in North Central zone of Nigeria. Four secondary schools from each of the three sampled states in the zone were purposively chosen and randomly assigned to research groups: experimental group I (Physical Laboratory), experimental group II (Virtual Laboratory) and control group (Lecture Method). A 20 – item research instrument titled Questionnaire on Attitude of Students towards Geography (QASG) was used for data collection in this study. Cronbach alpha’s formula was employed to ascertain the reliability coefficient of QATG and it yielded 0.70. The data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics of Mean and Standard Deviation and inferential statistics of Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). The null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. The results of the study revealed that physical and virtual laboratories enhanced secondary school students’ attitude towards geography better than lecture method and it was therefore recommended that these laboratories should be embraced as teaching strategies for teaching geography concepts in secondary schools in order to improve students’ attitude towards the subject.
Highlights
The revolution in digital technology experienced in the 21st century has brought about innovations in classroom teaching and learning
The following null hypotheses were tested in the study: HO1 There is no significant difference in the mean scores of students’ attitude towards Geography after exposure to physical laboratory, virtual laboratory and lecture method
The justification for this finding is because students naturally show good dispositions towards learning activities that make them active participants unlike the lecture method where they are passive during the teaching and learning process, the noticeable difference in their attitude towards the subject when exposed to the different strategies
Summary
The revolution in digital technology experienced in the 21st century has brought about innovations in classroom teaching and learning. The use of technology tools in teaching and learning is bringing significant changes in ways teachers conceive, organize instruction, and evaluate their students as well as ways in which learners learn. A virtual laboratory is one of the virtual platforms that are increasingly used by educators in response to a perceived demand for more flexible delivery modes that will complement in-class teaching and learning. Virtual classrooms enable more effective laboratory teaching and learning practices by allowing students to take greater control over their learning experiences (Falode, 2014). This is because it offers a powerful range of tools with flexible and attractive interface, and ubiquitous learning domain to promote more active participation (Subramaniam & Kandasamy, 2011). Educators may use it to complement the physical laboratories in impart attitudes, thought processes, problem-solving skills, practical skills, and a whole range of other underlying skills that are not made explicit or at least not embedded when other methods of teaching are employed
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