THE STAKES OF VIRTUAL REALITY: WHAT DOES EMPIRICAL RESEARCH SAY ABOUT MODELING IN CHEMISTRY EDUCATION?
DOI :
https://doi.org/10.34874/PRSM.ijsdee-vol1iss2.1934Mots-clés :
Virtual reality, model-building inquiry, hemistry education, digital didactic tools, interactive learningRésumé
The purpose of this article is to determine to what extent virtual reality (VR) platforms offering experiments in chemistry education reach the learning conditions required for learning models and modeling. As virtual reality becomes increasingly popular, it is relevant to confirm if its features are fit for the needs of students. In chemistry education, students have difficulties in making sense of models which are central to understanding chemistry concepts, experiments, and language. Therefore, model-building inquiry is of great importance in helping students to master chemistry. If VR is to help students make sense of the models in chemistry, then its features must ease model-building inquiry. To establish if the features of virtual reality are aligned with model-building inquiry, we combined the features of model-building inquiry and the cognitive-affective theory of multimedia learning. While the model-building inquiry defines the sense-making of models, the cognitive affective theory of multimedia learning indicates how virtual reality features can be linked to learning. From this convergence, we defined the conditions for sound virtual reality for chemistry education. We then analyzed the learning tasks proposed in virtual environments that have been studied by empirical research in chemistry education. Our results show that these conditions are present in a minority of research. In addition, there seems to be more non-significative impact of VR on learning achievement compared to positive impact reports when these conditions are not present. These results indicate that virtual reality is not used to facilitate sense-making, but rather to illustrate chemical concepts. Therefore, theoretical and empirical knowledge are separated, and not articulated, in most VR environments. Consequently, the principle of generative learning is not applied coherently with the nature of chemical concepts. Since the cognitive-affective theory of multimedia learning postulates that technology only affects learning if it is combined with a learning strategy, this lack of conjunction between features of VR and the nature of models is a possible explanation for the limited impact of VR on learning achievement. These findings also bring new ways to think the learning affordances of VR, as these features might be more related to the mediation of generative activity rather than to the reduction of information processing. Thus, the best affordances of VR might be related to scaffolds rather than immersion.
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(c) Tous droits réservés The International Journal of Science Didactics and Educational Engineering 2024

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