Exploring Differences in Student Learning and Behavior Between Real-life and Virtual Reality Chemistry Laboratories

Area of Science:

• Chemistry Education
• Educational Technology

Background:

• Schools increasingly use digital media, impacting hands-on science labs.
• Virtual reality (VR) offers a potential solution for remote science education.

Purpose of the Study:

• Compare student learning and safety behaviors in VR versus real-life (RL) chemistry labs.
• Identify differences in general chemistry knowledge, experiment comprehension, and lab safety.

Main Methods:

• A 2x1 between-subjects study comparing VR and RL chemistry laboratory environments.
• Assessed learning outcomes and safety behaviors in both settings.

Main Results:

• Comparable learning of general content, lab skills, and procedure-based safety between VR and RL.
• Fewer cleanup behaviors observed in VR labs.
• VR's risk-free environment may promote deeper reflection on content and safety.

Conclusions:

• VR is a viable alternative for certain chemistry lab learning objectives.
• Further research needed to address behavioral differences like cleanup in VR.
• VR environments can potentially enhance conceptual understanding and safety awareness.