Abstract

This study investigated the effect of3D Interactive Virtual Laboratory computer-simulated experiments on male and female senior secondary school students’ achievement and retention in Chemistry Subject. The study adopted a quasi-experimental design in which intact classes were used. It was guided by two research questions and two null hypotheses. The population comprised 234 SS II Chemistry students from Anambra East Local Government Area of Anambra State, Nigeria. The sample consisted of 71 SS II Chemistry students drawn from four co-educational schools using a simple random sampling technique (balloting without replacement). Data were collected using a Chemistry Achievement Test (CAT) titled 3D Interactive Virtual Laboratory Achievement Test (3D IVLAT). The instrument was validated by two experts in Chemistry Education and one expert in Measurement and Evaluation. Its reliability was established using Spearman Rank Order, yielding a coefficient of 0.81. The data collected were analyzed using mean, standard deviation, and t-test. Mean and standard deviation were employed to answer the research questions, while t-test was used to test the hypotheses at a 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed that female students taught Chemistry with the 3D Interactive Virtual Laboratory had higher mean achievement and retention scores than male students taught with the 3D Interactive Virtual Laboratory. Furthermore, there was no significant difference in the mean achievement and retention scores of male and female students taught Chemistry with the 3D Interactive Virtual Laboratory. Based on these findings, appropriate recommendations and conclusions swere drawn.