Exploring the Effectiveness of PhET Simulations on Students’ Performance in Electromagnetic Induction within Selected Secondary Schools of Nyamasheke District, Rwanda

Alexandre Ndayisaba & Gabriel Janvier Tugirinshuti
African Centre of Excellence Innovative Teaching and Learning Mathematics and Science (ACEITLMS),
University of Rwanda-College of Education Remera Campus, Rwanda (UR-CE)
Email: alexndayisaba05@gmail.com
https://orcid.org/0009-0004-5899-7488

Abstract: Electromagnetic induction is a challenging and abstract topic in physics. Students demonstrate poor performance in electromagnetic induction studies due to the lack of demonstration of its complexity and its abstract nature. The PhET simulation was used to measure its effectiveness on students’ performance. The targeted population was made up of all the senior three-day students in 78 day schools of the Nyamasheke District, Western Province, Rwanda. A total of 160 participants participated in the data collection. 156 were senior three students from 4 schools, 156 students were selected through the multistage sampling technique and assigned to two groups: 78 students in the control group and 78 students in the experimental group as an intact class. A quasi-experimental design with a mixed-methods approach was used. The results reveal that an independent samples t-test gave a t-value equals to −17.789 and the p-value of 0.000 with a degree of freedom equivalent to 137.397 from the p-value of 0.000, which is less than the alpha value( α=0.05) this shows that there were statistically significant differences between the experimental and control groups in favor of the experimental group.