Search

In recent years, chemistry educators are increasingly adopting immersive virtual reality (IVR) technology to help learners visualise molecular interactions. However, educational studies on IVR mostly investigated its usability and user perceptions leaving out its impact on improving conceptual understanding. If they evaluated students’ knowledge gains, they tended to use information recall tests to assess knowledge gains. Employing interviews and diagram-drawing tasks, this study explored how students’ conceptual understanding of the nature of hydrogen bonds and the shape of snowflakes changed through a collaborative IVR experience on snowflakes. Participants were 68 undergraduate chemistry students. Videos of pre-/post-interviews and student-generated diagrams were analysed. The results indicated a marked improvement in students’ conceptual understanding of the nature of hydrogen bonds among water molecules in snowflakes. After IVR, 57 students provided scientifically acceptable explanations of the nature of hydrogen bonds. Improvements in students’ understanding were related to the intermolecular nature of hydrogen bonds, the role of lone pairs of electrons in forming hydrogen bonds, and molecular interactions in 3D space. This study suggests that collaborative IVR could be a powerful way for students to visualise molecular interactions, examine their alternative conceptions, and build more coherent understanding. Implications for the design and implementation of IVR activities for science learning are discussed.

To investigate how learning in immersive Virtual Reality was designed in contemporary educational studies, this systematic literature review identified nine design features and analysed 219 empirical studies on the designs of learning activities with immersive Virtual Reality. Overall, the technological features for physical presence were more readily implemented and investigated than pedagogical features for learning engagement. Further analysis with k-means clustering revealed five approaches with varying levels of interactivity and openness in learning tasks, from watching virtual worlds passively to responding to personalised prompts. Such differences in the design appeared to stem from different practical and educational priorities, such as accessibility, interactivity, and engagement. This review highlights the diversity in the learning task designs in immersive Virtual Reality and illustrates how researchers are navigating practical and educational concerns. We recommend future empirical studies recognise the different approaches and priorities when designing and evaluating learning with immersive Virtual Reality. We also recommend that future systematic reviews investigate immersive Virtual Reality-based learning not only by learning topics or learner demographics, but also by task designs and learning experiences.

Recent studies have reported a growing trend of using student-generated diagrams for assessment in science teaching and research. However, many educators tend to use diagrams to explore students’ perceptions of scientists and their work rather than explore conceptual understanding of abstract concepts. In this study, we used diagrams to investigate students’ conceptual understanding of the nature of hydrogen bonds among water molecules in snowflakes. Participants were 70 first- and second-year university students. Following a sequence of interview prompts, the students drew diagrams to illustrate the interactions amongst water molecules in snowflakes. Sixty students’ diagrams were analyzed inductively using a constant comparison method. Most diagrams showed that the students did not have major challenges drawing the water molecule structure, recognizing polarity of a water molecule, or recognizing the intermolecular nature of hydrogen bonds. However, the diagrams revealed varied ways in which students conceptualized the formation of hydrogen bonds. A third of the diagrams revealed students’ alternative conceptions about the role of lone pairs of electrons in the formation of hydrogen bonds. Most diagrams which showed a good understanding of the nature of a hydrogen bond revealed students’ difficulties in recognizing molecular interactions in a 3D space. Our findings suggest that student-generated diagrams can provide a powerful way to understand students’ conceptions of abstract science concepts.

Computer-aided visualisation has played an essential role in helping students construct a better understanding of molecular interactions over the years but it has limitations in supporting 3D visualisation, especially for complex molecules. As an alternative platform, immersive virtual reality (VR) holds great promise for addressing students' difficulties. This paper examines the educational possibilities and limitations of immersive VR environments.

A multi-institution collaborative team of Australian chemistry education researchers, teaching a total of over 3000 first year chemistry students annually, has explored a tool for diagnosing students' prior conceptions as they enter tertiary chemistry courses. Five core topics were selected and clusters of diagnostic items were assembled linking related concepts in each topic together. An ordered multiple choice assessment strategy was adopted to enable provision of formative feedback to students through combination of the specific distractors that they chose. Concept items were either sourced from existing research instruments or developed by the project team. The outcome is a diagnostic tool consisting of five topic clusters of five concept items that has been delivered in large introductory chemistry classes at five Australian institutions. Statistical analysis of data has enabled exploration of the composition and validity of the instrument including a comparison between delivery of the complete 25 item instrument with subsets of five items, clustered by topic. This analysis revealed that most items retained their validity when delivered in small clusters. Tensions between the assembly, validation and delivery of diagnostic instruments for the purposes of acquiring robust psychometric research data versus their pragmatic use are considered in this study

When students start their tertiary studies they move into a new world which differs in many ways from their prior experiences, including the way they were taught, access to faculty, learning environments, class sizes, expectations of independence and time management (Torenbeek, 2011). The first year experience (FYE) has become a pivotal focus for institutional programs that recognize that many students struggle in this transition. Such programs aim to improve student retention in tertiary studies through provision of orientation and mentaring activities. These initiatives have become widespread and are typically informed by key research in the field in terms of transition pedagogies (Kift, 2009; Kift, 2010; Lawrence, 2005) and student engagement and retention.

It is desirable to enhance student learning trajectories between their secondary and tertiary studies while simultaneously encouraging them to take responsibility for their learning early in their tertiary studies. Their preparedness for tertiary studies in their discipline can be measured using diagnostic tests and this enables standards-based benchmarking as students progress through their tertiary program. Concept inventories have been used extensively for this purpose. A more desirable goal, however, is to use the outcomes of diagnostic testing to provide students with opportunities to improve their learning through formative feedback and self-regulated learning activities. We aim to design and implement modular, formative learning objects, informed by the outcomes of concept inventories, to target key missing and mis-conceptions possessed by incoming students. Students will be able to challenge and adjust their existing conceptions by engaging in these discrete active learning modules (hosted by existing technologies) which will be administered either in class or online in large chemistry classes.

of a presentation at The 2014 Australian Conference on Science and Mathematics Education, 29-30 September, University of Sydney, Australia.

Students entering tertiary studies possess a diverse range of prior experiences in their academic preparation for tertiary chemistry so academics need tools to enable them to respond to issues in diversity in conceptual models possessed by entering students. Concept inventories can be used to provide formative feedback to help students identify concepts that they need to address to improve construction of subsequent understanding enabling their learning. Modular, formative learning activities that can be administered inside or outside of class in first year chemistry courses have been developed. These activities address key missing and mis-conceptions possessed by incoming student. Engagement in these learning activities by students and academics will help shift the culture of diagnostic and formative assessment within the tertiary context and address issues around the secondary/tertiary transition. This diagnostic/intervention framework is currently being trialed across five Australian tertiary institutions encompassing a large heterogeneous sample of students.

Student learning and understanding has the potential to improve with the use of computer-based multimedia environments. Such environments have been expected to offer a powerful effective means of delivering material and enhancing learning (Mayer and Moreno 2002). Presently, there is much research activity investigating best practices for the design of multimedia instructional materials for creating effective e-learning environments. Several principles have already been established and tested such as the multiple representation principle meaning that it is better to present explanations as words and pictures rather than solely words (Mayer and Moreno 2002).