Document Type
Article
Publication Date
8-1-2024
Journal / Book Title
Electronics Switzerland
Abstract
In this 2 × 2 between-subject experimental study, a virtual reality (VR) laboratory simulation is paired with a VR molecular world intervention to teach chemistry concepts. The independent variables are the implementation timing of the molecular world intervention (Pre-lab vs. Integrated) and the level of embodiment (Traditional vs. VR). Eighty students (N = 80), ages 11–18 years old, from a community center in New York City participated, completing a pretest, a laboratory simulation, a molecular intervention, and a post-test. The pre- and post-test measures included multiple-choice, free-response, and drawing questions. A key finding was that integrating the intervention within the lab simulation, no matter which level of embodiment, led to significantly higher gains in learning. The combination of using physical manipulatives and integrating them within the lab exercise (Integrated Traditional condition) demonstrated the greatest gains overall. On drawing measures, the Integrated VR condition showed significant improvement in three out of the four drawing categories (i.e., molecule shape, atom quantity, and relative sizes). The implications are that even though using a VR molecular world intervention can lead to significant learning of abstract chemistry content, the use of physical manipulatives is still a more effective tool.
DOI
10.3390/electronics13163197
Journal ISSN / Book ISBN
85202679463 (Scopus)
Montclair State University Digital Commons Citation
Hu-Au, Elliot, "Learning Abstract Chemistry Concepts with Virtual Reality: An Experimental Study Using a VR Chemistry Lab and Molecule Simulation" (2024). School of Computing Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works. 36.
https://digitalcommons.montclair.edu/computing-facpubs/36
Published Citation
Hu-Au, E. (2024). Learning Abstract Chemistry Concepts with Virtual Reality: An Experimental Study Using a VR Chemistry Lab and Molecule Simulation. Electronics, 13(16), 3197. https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics13163197
Comments
© 2024 by the author. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)