In science and technology education community, technology-based pedagogy in
science learning has been mentioned its effectiveness for facilitating scientific inquiry in school
science. As such, this study investigated an effect of inquiry-based learning process into a
blended combination of hands-on microcomputer-based laboratory and computer-simulated
laboratory on secondary school students' physics motivation. Study participants were 66
eleventh-grade students of diverse learning abilities in a public school in Northeastern region of
Thailand. They were measured intrinsic motivation (IM), career motivation (CM),
self-determination (SDT), self-efficacy (SEC), and grade motivation (GM) in physics learning
by using a 25-item questionnaire both before and after participating the intervention. To
evaluate the intervention, repeated-measures MANOVA was performed to examine its effects
regarding type of inquiry (open- and guided inquiry) and time (pre- and post-test). The results
showed that students’ physics motivation for pre- and post- test were significantly different and
their motivation were improved after participating with blended combination of hands-on
microcomputer-based laboratory and computer-simulated laboratory for both types of inquiry.
This evidence indicated that inquiry-based physics learning with the blended laboratory
environment (physical and virtual lab) influenced students’ progression of physics motivation.
As such, blended combination of hands-on microcomputer-based laboratory and
computer-simulated laboratory could be considered as a pedagogic technology-based
laboratory environment for teaching and learning of science by inquiry.