Investigation of the effect of using simulation-based virtual laboratory applications in the science education of secondary school students on their academic success, entrepreneurship competences and design skills

The aim of this research is to examine the effects of including simulation-based virtual laboratory applications in Science Education on students' academic achievement, entrepreneurship skills and design skills. This study is a quasi-experimental study. A quasi-experimental design based on pre-test and post-test was used in the study. The research sample consists of 7th grade students of a secondary school in Adana province in the 2023-2024 academic year. There are two groups in the sample: an experimental group and a control group. An implementation process lasting 2 weeks and 8 class hours was planned for 30 students (15 experimental, 15 control group). A simulation-based program was implemented in the experimental group, taking into account the 7th grade curriculum. In the control group, question and answer, direct explanation, presentation strategy was applied in accordance with the existing achievements and the activities in the MEB textbooks were used. Data were collected using the academic achievement test and the Entrepreneurship Skills Scale. Analysis results were calculated using Descriptive Statistics, Shopiro-Wilk and Independent Groups T Test results using SPSS program. As a result of the research, it was concluded that the inclusion of simulation-based applications in Science Education created a significant difference in the academic success and entrepreneurial competencies of the experimental group students and this difference was in favor of the experimental group. Keywords: Science education, simulation, virtual laboratory, entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial competence