Physical and virtual laboratory modalities produce different learning processes and transfer despite equivalent test scores¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · review r2 · q3
Currency · newest study 2026 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i? Groups in physical labs talk more about apparatus setup and computation while virtual-lab groups make more predictions and interpret variable relationships; transfer to new contexts also differed by modality. → Yahya Fahmi 2026

Evidence¶

Yahya Fahmi 2026¶

Yahya Fahmi, Rusijono Rusijono, Dewi Utari, Metafisika Kartika, Lestiani Winda, Hermansyah Hermansyah, Asbanu Dens E. S. I. (2026). Bridging Pedagogy and Technology: A Systematic Literature Review on Inquiry-Collaborative Models Assisted with Virtual Laboratory in Physics Education. F1000Research 15:1682. https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.191181.1

q3 · i? · review · r2

Review synthesis of the few studies analysing collaboration structure, including discourse analysis of 14 groups from 115 sixth-graders (Puntambekar et al., 2021) and an extension to 385 students (Gnesdilow and Puntambekar, 2025) finding transfer "to new contexts also differed by modality".

"students in physical laboratories talk more about apparatus setup and computation, while students in virtual laboratories make more predictions and interpret relationships between variables more often"

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Affective outcomes of virtual-laboratory modalities are divided and interact with learners' initial attitude profiles — related
• Combining real and virtual laboratories outperforms either single modality in physics learning outcomes — related
• Virtual laboratories match physical laboratories on conceptual mastery, with domain-specific advantages and disadvantages — related
• Physical Experience Enhances Science Learning — related