OrChemSTAR

Content and aim of the research project

The structures of chemical compounds can be represented in different ways, each of which focuses on different aspects of chemical structures. Reading these representations, selecting a suitable form of representation for a particular purpose and writing the chemical formulae require special skills from learners. While experts can easily translate back and forth between the different forms of representation, learners must first learn the design rules of the different forms of representation.

The OrChemSTAR project is investigating how learners can be supported in this with the help of an augmented reality learning environment.

The project has three main objectives:

1. The development of an AR app with several functions for adaptive learner support (recognizing chemical formulas in printed or handwritten texts, two- and three-dimensional representation of chemical compounds and supporting learners in reading and drawing chemical structures),
2. testing and investigating the conditions for successful learning with augmented reality in chemistry lessons and
3. investigating the effectiveness of adaptive support in learning representations of chemical compounds and selected organic chemistry content.

Scientific and social context

With artificial intelligence (AI) and augmented reality (AR), the OrChemSTAR project brings together two branches of research in science and technology education and thus opens up a new, particularly promising field of science education research.