DEEPENING CONCEPTUAL UNDERSTANDING THROUGH THE COGNITIVE ADAPTATION MODEL USING VIRTUAL LABORATORIES IN CHEMISTRY CLASSES

This article advances a Cognitive Adaptation Model (CAM) for virtual laboratories to deepen secondary-level students’ conceptual understanding in chemistry. CAM integrates cognitive-load management (balancing intrinsic, reducing extraneous, and amplifying germane load), metacognitive regulation (prompted self-monitoring and planning), and representational fidelity (progressive visualizations from particle to symbolic levels). The paper (i) formalizes the constructs and mechanisms of CAM; (ii) translates them into design principles for virtual experiments on core topics such as equilibrium, acid–base processes, and reaction kinetics; and (iii) outlines an evaluation protocol combining concept inventories, near–far transfer tasks, and cognitive-load indices with learning-analytics traces from the simulation environment. The approach specifies adaptive scaffolding, phased guidance, and feedback calibrated to learners’ evolving cognitive states. By aligning instructional moves with documented patterns of cognitive adaptation, CAM offers a theoretically grounded, practically actionable blueprint for virtual lab design. Implications for curriculum integration, teacher professional development, and future empirical validation are discussed.