Educational technology has shown promise in supporting student learning in chemical education. Yet the gamification of educational technologies in organic chemistry education is understudied in chemical education research. Gamification is the process of applying game elements, such as points, leveling systems, and badges, to non-game contexts, to support user motivation, engagement, and learning. This presentation presents the results of a study that with undergraduate Organic Chemistry I students at a large research university in the United States that included 57 students in a treatment group and 53 students in a control group. The control group had class as usual, which included an established organic chemistry digital learning platform. The experimental group received these as well as access to a gamified organic chemistry learning mobile phone app called “Substrate.” The Substrate app allows users to engage in a variety of organic chemistry problems that gradually progress from simpler to more difficult challenges in a gamified format. The app provides both 2D and 3D visualizations of various molecules that users examine while solving various questions and exercises. Substrate also provides tailored feedback in response to users’ choices to facilitate understanding of molecular structures and chemical processes. Both control group and treatment group participants completed surveys and assessments throughout the semester. Surveys measured participants’ perceptions on how they believe the digital learning platforms (i.e., Substrate for the treatment group and the established platform for the control group) influenced their learning and their likelihood of recommending the platform to peers. The assessments measured a variety of chemistry concepts and results indicated there was no statistically significant difference between groups. However, the surveys indicated that treatment group participants placed a higher value on the Substrate app to support learning and were more likely to recommend the app to their peers than the control group participants placed on the established platform. Implications and directions for future research will be discussed.

Gamification in organic chemistry: Undergraduate student learning and their perceptions

ACS Spring 2022

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.