Abstract

Virtual reality (VR) technology presents the potential of transforming science education. Chemistry education, in particular, has traditionally been limited by the safety, infrastructure, and cost of chemistry laboratories, as well as the inability of traditional methods to visualize microscopic phenomena within chemistry. While there are various virtual reality systems that have been published that describe the capabilities of performing individual functions within the virtual chemistry classroom (such as simulating chemistry experiments or visualizing molecules), few have incorporated the various components of an effective chemistry classroom within their software, and the literature offers no unifying architectural framework or accompanying set of design principles for integrating those components systematically. This paper presents a design framework and reference architecture for an immersive virtual reality smart chemistry laboratory. The framework has not yet been implemented as a software system; its value lies in a principle-driven design blueprint—layers, responsibilities, inter-layer data flows, and design rules—that is intended to guide future implementations. The framework divides the virtual chemistry classroom into five major layers and the data that flows between those layers. Each layer has a relationship with other theories of learning, such as constructivism, experiential learning theory, and cognitive load theory, as well as a rule-based system for providing guidance to the user to enhance their learning of chemistry topics. The intelligence of the framework is deliberately staged: its core is a rule-based, explainable expert system that is implementable with current technology, while AI and generative-AI capabilities are positioned as optional future augmentations of specific layers. Additionally, a model for governing the data collected from the virtual chemistry laboratory is presented. Both existing literature and case studies of third-party virtual reality systems are reviewed to indicate the capabilities of each of these systems; these systems are not the implementations of the current framework. As a result, the virtual reality chemistry classroom can enhance engagement in chemistry concepts and topics, allow for accessibility to chemistry concepts, and reduce the potential for chemical exposure to students. The scalable design framework and reference architecture described in this paper can be used to guide the development of next-generation virtual chemistry classrooms. Future efforts in regard to this technology would focus upon actually implementing the proposed framework, deploying it into chemistry classrooms, and evaluating the learning of students who utilize the learning environment.

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