EFFECTIVENESS OF VIRTUAL LAB USAGE IN ENHANCING GRADE 9 STUDENTS’ PERFORMANCE IN SCIENTIFIC EXPERIMENTS

<p>The research investigated how the use of virtual laboratories affected Grade 9 students' scientific testing capabilities. The research employed a quantitative methodology within a quasi-experimental design. The research involved 55 Grade 9 students from De La Salle Andres Soriano Memorial College, assigned to a control group that used traditional laboratory methods and an experimental group that used both traditional and virtual laboratory technology. The researchers conducted pre- and post-laboratory assessments with the participants to evaluate their understanding of the Flame Test experiment. The results showed that both groups improved their post-test scores, but the experimental group achieved better performance improvement than the control group. The research results showed that students performed better in both virtual and traditional laboratory environments than in traditional laboratory environments alone. Virtual laboratories create a better learning environment, enabling students to learn at their own pace and practice in a safe, repeatable way. The study found that virtual laboratory use is an effective teaching method because it helps students develop their scientific experimentation skills and deepen their understanding of scientific concepts. </p>