Abstract:

Abstract The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of teaching through a virtual laboratory prepared using simulations teaching materials and that are based on constructivist thought about geometrical optics upon the students’ academic success and their attitudes towards physics. Quasi-experimental pretest and posttest control groups was used as the research method. While the independent variable of the study is teaching method that is based on virtual laboratory application, the dependents variables are students’ success at physics lesson and their attitude towards physics. The study was carried out with 59 students from the same grade but a different section and taking Physics II lesson that is taught in Department of Computer and Instructional Technologies in the spring term of 2013 and 2014 academic year. One of the sections was objectively determined as the experimental group and the other one is determined as the control group. The subject was taught to 29 students in the experimental group in a virtual laboratory environment which was created using simulations, and 30 students in the control group was taught the same subject in a traditional laboratory environment. As a result in this study, it was seen that teaching in the virtual laboratory environment where simulations were used in the subject of Geometrical Optics was more affective in physics success than teaching in traditional laboratory environment but there was no meaningful difference in attitudes towards physics.

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