Students’ Conceptual Understanding of Simple Electric Circuits and Friction Before and After Hands-on Laboratory Activities Using a Mobile Science Laboratory

Abstract

Limited access to laboratory equipment can restrict opportunities for students in small schools to engage in practical science learning. The Mobile Science Laboratory of Surindra Rajabhat University provides a flexible outreach platform that transports laboratory equipment, learning materials, lecturers, staff, and university students to schools according to their educational needs. This study aimed to (1) implement hands-on laboratory activities on simple electric circuits and friction using the Mobile Science Laboratory and (2) compare students’ conceptual understanding before and after participation. A one-group pretest–posttest design with descriptive analysis was employed. The participants were 76 Grade 9 students from a small opportunity-expansion school in Surin Province, Thailand. Two researcher-developed conceptual understanding tests, each consisting of 10 four-option multiple-choice items, were administered before and after the corresponding laboratory activities. Complete response sets were available from 76 students for simple electric circuits and 59 students for friction. Item-level percentages of correct responses were compared descriptively. The results showed higher posttest percentages for all 10 simple electric circuit items. For friction, posttest percentages were higher for nine of the 10 items, although the magnitude of change varied and some concepts remained difficult. Overall, the findings indicate positive descriptive changes in students’ test performance, particularly for simple electric circuits. The Mobile Science Laboratory provides a practical approach to expanding access to hands-on science learning in small and resource-limited schools.