Virtual Reality Assisted General Education of Nuclear Chemistry and Radiochemistry

• Published in: Journal of chemical education Vol. 99; no. 2; pp. 777 - 786
• Main Authors: Wang, Yuan-Hao, Zhang, Guo-Hao, Xiang, Yu-Qin, Yuan, Wen-Li, Fu, Jie, Wang, Shuang-Long, Xiong, Ze-Xuan, Zhang, Ming-Dong, He, Ling, Tao, Guo-Hong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Easton Division of Chemical Education, Inc 08.02.2022; American Chemical Society
• Subjects: Audiences; Chemistry; Classroom communication; Computer Simulation; Education; Electronic Learning; General Education; Instructional Effectiveness; Interaction; Learning; Nuclear chemistry; Nuclear Energy; Nuclear safety; Organic Chemistry; Prejudice; Radiation; Radiochemistry; Science education; Science Experiments; Science Instruction; Self Efficacy; Student Improvement; Students; Teacher Student Relationship; Teaching methods; Usability; Virtual reality
• ISSN: 0021-9584; 1938-1328
• DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.1c01014

Nuclear chemistry and radiochemistry is a branch of chemistry that has high experimental risks, has high research costs, and is subject to certain prejudices. However, it has an extremely important influence on the development of human life. It is particularly important to emphasize the general education of nuclear chemistry and radiochemistry without compromising the quality of the teaching. The introduction of the general education mode into nuclear chemistry and radiochemistry overcomes the shortcomings of narrow audiences. However, single theoretical courses are limited to a slide-based lecture. Although the audience for general education is wide, it is difficult to carry out related experiments because of safety responsibility and teaching funds. In this work, VR technology was first applied to the general education of nuclear chemistry and radiochemistry, and the audiences of the course were not limited to students who major in chemistry. The research results showed that not only did the VR platform effectively improve students' learning confidence, but also the effect of teacher-student interaction and the usability of VR equipment were recognized. This work may bring enlightenment to the popularization of nuclear chemistry and radiochemistry through new media technology.