Effect of the virtual laboratory on the self-efficacy of students in thermal physics undergraduate course

Previous studies have established a direct link between instructional strategy, learners' conceptual understanding, and Self-efficacy.However, there are insufficient studies reporting university students' level of Self-efficacy, particularly in the field of physics.This study determined the effect of virtual laboratory packages on the self-efficacy of y undergraduate students in thermal physics courses.To achieve these two research questions were raised and one hypothesis was tested.The study adopted a quasi-experimental procedure involving two levels of independent variables and one dependent variable.A modified version of Sources of Self-Efficacy in Science Courses-Physics (SOSESC-P) was used in this study to assess first-year undergraduate students' self-efficacy in thermal physics within a virtual and traditional laboratory setting.A total of 120 undergraduate students from Nigeria were randomly selected from four purposively selected disciplines.Findings revealed that the mean scores of the self-efficacy of students taught thermal physics using Virtual Laboratory were higher than those of the conventional laboratory.However, there was no significant difference in the mean scores.The difference (10.14) (95%) is statistically not significant at W=3378.p>0.05.Hence the Virtual Laboratory was recommended for exploration as a suitable alternative to the traditional laboratory method.