Influence of virtual laboratories on academic achievements in Physics: The case of tertiary education in Kenya

Founded on David Kolb' experiential learning the study investigated how Virtual Physics laboratory (VPL) influences the academic achievement of the Craft Certificate in Science Laboratory Technology (CCSLT) trainees in Kenya. The target was all the CCSLT trainees and their trainers in all tertiary TVET institutions in Kenya from which a sample of fifty-three (N=53) Year II Physics Techniques trainees from The Kisii National Polytechnic was obtained. Intact classes were randomly assigned to the virtual-lab (N=27) and non-virtual-lab (N=26) groups. Both groups were subjected to a pre-test and post-test using a Physics Achievement Test (PAT) that had been expert-validated. Its Spearman’s reliability Coefficient, r, was 0.86. Means, standard deviations and t-test were applied for hypotheses testing at 0.05 significance levels. The tcal = 2.019; df = 50, p = 0.049, implies the VPL trainees’ mean score in the post-test was significantly higher than that of their non-VPL counterparts.  The tcal = 0.203; df = 24, p = 0.84, meant that male trainees’ mean score was not significantly different from that of their female counterparts. The study recommends that trainees be afforded a chance of engaging in virtual hands-on Physics as it enhances learning by the trainees. The results of this study will be beneficial to future researchers and educators who are interested in using v-labs in Physics and related subjects