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<p>Virtual laboratories (V-Labs) have become central to sustaining inquiry-based science education in the wake of pandemic disruptions and long-standing resource constraints. Yet evidence remains fragmented, with limited attention to recent implementations, inquiry processes, and coherent explanations of how V-Labs influence learning. This study reports a systematically informed narrative review of 31 empirical studies (2020–2024) on V-Lab use in inquiry-oriented science and STEM education across primary, secondary, and tertiary settings. The synthesis indicates that, among the experimental/quasi-experimental studies in the corpus (21 of 31), 19 reported conceptual understanding/achievement, inquiry/process skills, and/or motivational outcomes that were comparable to or better than those under “traditional instruction”—defined here as non–V-Lab comparison conditions such as hands-on/physical laboratories, teacher-led demonstrations, and lecture-/worksheet-based instruction (including hybrid lab formats)—particularly when V-Labs were embedded in structured inquiry cycles with multi-layered scaffolding. Effective designs manage cognitive load through clear interfaces, stepwise guidance, and focused representations, while promoting autonomy, competence, and relatedness via meaningful choice, feedback, collaboration, and carefully aligned gamification. Implementation, however, is conditioned by infrastructure, teacher expertise, educational level, disciplinary domain, and learner characteristics, which may widen digital inequities. Drawing on constructivist learning theory, Cognitive Load Theory, and Self-Determination Theory, the review advances an integrative framework that consolidates recurring V-Lab design features and pedagogical scaffolds and maps them—together with key contextual moderators—to cognitive, inquiry-related, and motivational outcomes, thereby clarifying when and for whom V-Lab–supported inquiry is most productive and offering design implications for more resilient and equitable science education.</p>

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Pedagogical innovations and challenges in inquiry-based learning: a systematically informed narrative review of virtual laboratory applications (2020–2024)

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

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  • 发表日期：

    2026年7月1日

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  • Siliang Yu,
  • Xiaoyan Jiang,
  • Cheng Zhong

摘要

Virtual laboratories (V-Labs) have become central to sustaining inquiry-based science education in the wake of pandemic disruptions and long-standing resource constraints. Yet evidence remains fragmented, with limited attention to recent implementations, inquiry processes, and coherent explanations of how V-Labs influence learning. This study reports a systematically informed narrative review of 31 empirical studies (2020–2024) on V-Lab use in inquiry-oriented science and STEM education across primary, secondary, and tertiary settings. The synthesis indicates that, among the experimental/quasi-experimental studies in the corpus (21 of 31), 19 reported conceptual understanding/achievement, inquiry/process skills, and/or motivational outcomes that were comparable to or better than those under “traditional instruction”—defined here as non–V-Lab comparison conditions such as hands-on/physical laboratories, teacher-led demonstrations, and lecture-/worksheet-based instruction (including hybrid lab formats)—particularly when V-Labs were embedded in structured inquiry cycles with multi-layered scaffolding. Effective designs manage cognitive load through clear interfaces, stepwise guidance, and focused representations, while promoting autonomy, competence, and relatedness via meaningful choice, feedback, collaboration, and carefully aligned gamification. Implementation, however, is conditioned by infrastructure, teacher expertise, educational level, disciplinary domain, and learner characteristics, which may widen digital inequities. Drawing on constructivist learning theory, Cognitive Load Theory, and Self-Determination Theory, the review advances an integrative framework that consolidates recurring V-Lab design features and pedagogical scaffolds and maps them—together with key contextual moderators—to cognitive, inquiry-related, and motivational outcomes, thereby clarifying when and for whom V-Lab–supported inquiry is most productive and offering design implications for more resilient and equitable science education.