Post Covid-19: Assessing Secondary School Students' and Teachers' Perception of Virtual Labs Versus Traditional Labs in Biology Education

Abstract

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the closure of schools across the world. As a result, education has undergone a significant transformation whereby the lessons were delivered through online platforms. The new norms were challenging especially in Malaysia to meet the needs of students in conducting practical works as the students have no access to traditional labs. With recent trends of using Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in education, virtual labs have become more prevalent in classrooms. However, do we still need virtual labs during post COVID-19? So, this study was aimed to (i) to assess students' perceptions of virtual labs compared to traditional labs in terms of conceptual understanding, laboratory activities and motivation and (ii) to assess teachers' perspectives on the potential of virtual labs as compared to traditional labs in teaching Biology. This research employed both quantitative and qualitative methods. A total of 30 secondary school Form Four students and two biology teachers were selected in the study. The survey amongst the students and teachers revealed virtual labs were more preferred in teaching and learning process compared to traditional labs especially during post COVID-19. Hence, the findings of this study are expected to contribute information towards Sustainable Development Goals 4 in providing equitable quality of Biology education.