Investigating the Nature of Students' Reasoning in Connecting Molecular Structures of Stereoisomers with their Physical Properties Using an AR App

Stereoisomers are chemicals with identical molecular composition differing only in the spatial arrangement of their atoms. This difference causes differences in their physical, chemical or biological properties. Fundamental to the learning of stereochemistry is to understand how this spatial differences in stereoisomers causes differences in their properties. It is a complex learning problem requiring learners to imagine dynamic processes occurring at the molecular level. It is also a learning problem that has not been adequately addressed in the context of stereochemistry. We conducted an exploratory study to investigate how chemistry students of different grade levels reason to connect structure and properties of stereoisomers. In parallel, we were also working on the development of an augmented reality based molecular visualization app called 'StereoChem'; to aid the specific difficulties observed in the students while they were performing stereochemical tasks. From our observation and analysis we report the critical bottlenecks identified in students' reasoning, probable sources of those bottlenecks and the refinement of our 'StereoChem' app. In conclusion, we suggest key design guidelines drawn from our study for curriculum design, pedagogical practices and technological support to help students overcome those bottlenecks.