A Case Study Using Augmented Reality for Teaching Organic Compound Reactions

This research-to-practice full paper is elaborated from the next problem, 'Augmented Reality's technology can assist in understanding the contents of Chemistry in a more concise way? The Case Study was conducted in a small-town school. The absence of structures, such as teaching laboratories, limited Internet access, or an insufficient number of computers is common in many small cities such as the one chosen. There is also a lack of teachers trained in pedagogical methods that make the student take an interest in learning. On the other hand, most young people and teachers have cell phones and enjoy recreational activities. So, we combine these various aspects to promote learning in a playful, cooperative way and based on a relevant learning theory. This paper is aimed at analyzing learning supported by Augmented Reality (AR) for Chemistry teaching. It was a quantitative study using Augmented Reality with the intent to check the benefits that AR brings to education. We focused on Organic Reactions because many students have difficulties with this topic and we evaluate that this topic is appropriate for using Augmented Reality. First, a pedagogical approach had been discussed with teachers of the proposed discipline and from that, an app for the Android system was developed, to assist in teaching Organic Compound Reactions, uniting Vygotsky concepts on the Proximal Development Zone. The proposal is integrated to the movement based on learning by design in basic schools, STEM, the system promotes students' abilities to work with technology to understand the teaching of Chemistry. Evaluations were carried out with 54 high school students during the semester, and the results obtained on the technology used identified that 84% of students considered the contents of chemistry relevant. A significant part suggested that the approach using Augmented Reality could be used in teaching other subjects. It was possible to observe the learning with cooperative characteristics highlighting the importance of working with this perspective, uniting attractive technologies that can collaborate effectively for the construction of knowledge in school disciplines.