Development of Laboratory Manual in Physics for Engineers

This study aimed to identify the least learned competencies, needs, and challenges of engineering physics students and teachers, and develop a laboratory manual for Engineering Physics through a mix method design and ADDIE model, but limited to analysis, design and development of Laboratory Manual only. The participants were six Engineering Physics Laboratory teachers and ten second year engineering students. The result showed that the prevailing challenges that needs to be addressed in the laboratory class were lack of updated instructional materials such as laboratory manuals and laboratory equipment, old laboratory apparatus that give inaccurate data and the least learned competencies were thermodynamics, waves and optics, and electricity and magnetism. From the least learned competencies, a laboratory manual was developed to address the needs identified by students and teachers. Results revealed that the developed laboratory manual is much acceptable (M=4.64), by experts. In particular, the laboratory manual is acceptable in terms of Content Quality (M = 4.69), Instructional Quality (M = 4.64) and Technical Quality (M = 4.58). In conclusion, the implementation of the engineering physics curriculum faces many challenges especially the lack of laboratory facilities and instructional materials. The validated developed laboratory manual was found very much acceptable and can be used to address the needs of the students and teachers of engineer physics. It is recommended that the laboratory manual will be used as a supplemental instructional material. Also, further review and evaluation of the manual maybe considered to make it more contextualized, localized and indigenized in the Philippine setting.