Uncovering the impact of integrating virtual labs into General Chemistry wet-lab sequence on student's scientific skills
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55420/2693.9193.v16.n2.370Keywords:
virtual laboratories, general chemistry education, blended laboratory instruction, STEM education, student learning outcomesAbstract
Abstract
Laboratory experiences are essential for developing analytical and problem-solving skills in undergraduate chemistry courses; however, students often face challenges connecting theoretical concepts with experimental practice. This study examined whether integrating virtual laboratory simulations into an in-person General Chemistry laboratory course enhances student learning outcomes. The study was conducted at Hostos Community College, The City University of New York (CUNY), in the Natural Sciences Department, Physical Sciences Unit. A total of 210 students enrolled in CHE 210 across multiple semesters consented to participate. Two course sections implemented the same virtual laboratory simulations (Intervention 1 and Intervention 2), while a comparison section followed the standard wet-lab sequence without virtual laboratory integration. Student learning outcomes were assessed using quiz-based evaluations and cumulative final exam questions across several core laboratory topics, including percent error calculations, stoichiometry, titration, gas laws, and spectrometry. Analysis of student performance consistently demonstrated higher percentages of correct responses among students exposed to virtual laboratory activities compared to those in the no-intervention group. Performance gains were observed across both formative quizzes and summative final exam assessments, with particularly notable improvements in conceptually integrative topics such as gas laws and spectrometry. These findings suggest that purposeful integration of virtual laboratory simulations can enhance conceptual understanding and analytical skills in undergraduate General Chemistry laboratory courses.
References
Arranz I, Nobre R, Cucherousset J, Reis de Carvalho A, Cantarute-Rodrigues A, Favriou P, Garcia F, Gimenez M, Imbert A, Marin V, Paz-Vinas I. (2022). Promoting lab culture to enhance academic resilience during crises. Ecol Evol. 2(6): e8986.
Bates, T. (2023). Key issues in teaching and learning resulting from the Covid‐19 pandemic. Natural Sciences Education Journal, 52; 1; e20118.
Beschorner, B, Hutchison, A. (2021). Addressing equity in online learning during COVID-19. Journal of Literacy and Technology, 22(1), 45–60.
Branch, R. (2015). Instructional design: The ADDIE approach. Springer.
de Jong, T, Linn, M, Zacharia, Z. (2013). Physical and virtual laboratories in science and engineering education. Science, 340(6130), 305–308.
Dendir, S, Maxwell, R. (2020). Cheating in online courses: Evidence from online proctoring. Computers in Human Behavior Reports, 2, 100033.
Dumitrescu, C, Olteanu, R, Gorghiu, G. (2009). Virtual experiments in science education. Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences, 1(1), 151–155.
Gamage, K, Silva, E, Gunawardhana, N. (2020). Online delivery of teaching and assessment during COVID-19. Education Sciences, 10(11), 301.
Hodges, C, Moore, S, Lockee, B, Trust, T, Bond, A. (2020). The difference between emergency remote teaching and online learning. EDUCAUSE Review.
McDaniel, C, Suffern C, Joo J, Alamuddi R. (2020) Student and Faculty Experiences with Emergency Remote Learning in Spring 2020. Ithaka S+R. 5-34.
Means, B, Toyama, Y, Murphy, R, Baki, M. (2014). The effectiveness of online and blended learning: A meta-analysis. Teachers College Record. 115(3), 1–47.
Morales, D, Morales, S, Beltran, T. (2021). Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Household Food Insecurity During the COVID-19 Pandemic: a Nationally Representative Study. J. Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities 8, 1300–1314.
Ostrin, K, Binnie, W, McIntyre, S. (2016). The effectiveness of virtual laboratories in science education. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 25(3), 1–12.
Ray, S, Srivastava, S. (2020). Virtualization of science education: A review of virtual labs. Education and Information Technologies, 25, 1–25.
Sandrone S, Scott G, Anderson WJ, Musunuru K. (2021). Active learning-based STEM education for in-person and online learning. Cell. 184(6):1409-1414.
Santos, D, Mooring, S. (2022). Characterizing Mindset-Related Challenges in Undergraduate Chemistry Courses. Journal of Chemical Education. 99;8
Wyse S, Soneral P. (2018). Is This Class Hard? Defining and Analyzing Academic Rigor from a Learner's Perspective. CBE Life Sci Educ. 17(4):ar59.
Zou, J., & Jiang S. (2025). Adaptive instructional designs in blended learning to enhance student engagement and self-regulation. Computers and Education Open Journal. 9; 100299
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Bianca Rivera-Peña, Anna Ivanova, Allison Franzese, Juan Sironi, Nelson Núñez-Rodríguez
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Open Access Policy Statement
HETS Online Journal has adopted an open access policy and provides immediate access to its content free of charge to the reader. The journal does not pass on the cost of publication or submission of manuscripts, known as an Article Processing Charge (APC), to authors.
HOJ is licensed under CC-BY-NC-SA.