Integrating Augmented Reality in Chemistry Education: The Impact of the Augmented Reality Chemistry Student Investigation (AR-CSI) Module on Content Knowledge and 21st Century Skills

Abstract

Chemistry is often viewed as a challenging subject, and the main difficulty for students in learning chemistry is the presence of many abstract concepts. One of the important topics in chemistry that requires a deep understanding of concepts and extensive visualisation is chemical bonding. Thus, modern technology has created opportunities for students to overcome visualisation problems. Integrating modules with Augmented Reality (AR) can effectively enhance academic achievement and foster 21st century skills. The Augmented Reality Chemistry Student Investigation (AR-CSI) Module was designed to help students understand chemical bonding by integrating AR technology. A non-equivalent pretest-posttest control group design was employed to examine the effects of the AR-CSI Module on students’ understanding of chemical bonding and the enhancement of 21st century skills. A total of 60 18-year-old students from one of the matriculation colleges in Malaysia were involved in the control and treatment groups. The instruments used comprised an achievement test and the Malaysian Twenty-First Century Skills Instrument (M-21CSI) questionnaire. Results revealed a significant difference in the understanding of chemical bonding between the control and treatment groups [t(58) = −14.718, p < 0.001]. Additionally, the treatment group showed a significant difference in the four clusters of 21st century skills scores compared to the control group [F(4,55) = 149.645, p