Transforming Secondary School Chemistry Learning with Virtual Reality

• Main Authors: Chew, Chiou Sheng, Zafarin, Muhammad Nabil Shah, Zain, Nurul Hidayah Mat, Aminuddin, Raihah, Tan, Tse Guan, Chin, Kim On
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Subjects: Chemical reactions; Chemistry; Education; Immersive learning; Safety; Secondary education; Solid modeling; Temperature; Temperature measurement; Usability; User experience; Virtual reality
• ISSN: 2643-2447
• DOI: 10.1109/SCOReD64708.2024.10872679

In secondary schools, traditional chemistry instruction often depends on lecture-based approaches and occasional hands-on experiments, which may limit students' grasp of complex concepts like chemical reactions and molecular behaviour. This study addresses the need for enhanced educational tools by introducing a Virtual Reality (VR) application designed to enrich chemistry learning through immersive, interactive experiences. The VR tool allows students to simulate chemical reactions with adjustable parameters, such as temperature and concentration, enabling safe, hands-on exploration of complex processes. Usability was assessed among 30 secondary school students in Malaysia using the System Usability Scale (SUS), a standardized measure that gauges user experience across factors like functionality and ease of use. Findings showed a strong average SUS score of 91.25, indicating high usability and positive engagement from users. These results suggest that incorporating VR into the chemistry curriculum can help make challenging topics more accessible and engaging, supporting the modernization of science education. Future studies will look to expand the sample size and investigate additional chemistry topics to validate the tool's educational benefits further.