ENHANCING STUDENT'S PARTICIPATION IN CHEMISTRY PRACTICAL WORK: THE ROLE OF EXPERIMENTAL SIMULATION SOFTWARE

Abstract

At every stage of the educational process, the ever-rising tide of technological advancements has brought new possibilities for enhancing both classroom instruction and student learning. Computer simulation tools have increased students' interest, motivation, and engagement in learning scientific concepts. The current research investigated the potential for the ChemLab simulation software to impact secondary school student's interest in participating in chemistry laboratory experiments. Two hundred nine senior secondary school students enrolled in science classes participated in the research project. The result established a statistically significant effect of ChemLab simulation software on the respondent's intention to engage in chemistry lab experiments at F (1,207), 4.60 P.05 with adjusted R² indicating that ChemLab simulation software contributed approximately 9.11% of the variance in student's intention to engage in a chemistry lab experiment. The finding has implications for the design of laboratory exercises for secondary school chemistry classrooms.