Chemist Bot as a Helpful Personal Online Training Tool for the Final Chemistry Examination

Abstract

The global pandemic complicated both learning chemistry and, importantly, preparation for examinations. One of the problems which students face is the lack of teachers’ attention, whereas the implementation of such distance learning technology as a chatbot represents one possible solution. The Chemist Bot was created specifically to help Russian students prepare for the final chemistry examination. It provides various activities, including the access to theory, the opportunity to complete the real exam tasks, and educational games. Over a period of three months, 465 students took part in the Chemist Bot activities, and 52 of them shared their real examination results. It was revealed that both the completion of exam tasks and participation in extracurricular activities are helpful for training and preparation. In the present experiment, it has been shown that 13 of the 15 students who wrote the full United State Exam (USE) sample in the bot and scored at least 53 out of 66 points in the Chemist Bot then scored over 80 points on the real USE (which is 80% of the maximum USE score and is considered excellent by FIPM – Federal Institute of Pedagogical Measurements, Russian Federation). Currently, the Chemist Bot is involved in preparation of new participants: those students who are going to pass the exam in the summer of 2022.

Investigating the Use of an Artificial Intelligence Chatbot with General Chemistry Exam Questions

“…Chatbots have been used in different educational fields, such as mathematics education, nursing education, , and chemical education, − and especially in online courses. − The primary constraint on chatbot implementation has been the capabilities of the natural language processing, which limits the ability to have in-depth customized conversations, leading to the conclusion that chatbots can supplement, but not replace, classroom activities . Despite this limitation, chatbots have been used in diverse and creative ways, such as being learning partners, to support exam preparation, to answer frequently asked questions, , and as virtual students with misconceptions to support an authentic, meaningful, and open-ended teaching situation with preservice teachers . Reviews in this area describe chatbots as educational resources growing in popularity and functionality − because more students have access to the Internet at home and at school, there is greater availability of intelligent learning technologies, and due to the digitalization of education accelerated by school closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic .…”

“…Chatbots are used in educational settings, including Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines, because they have the potential to help students learn basic content in a responsive, interactive, and confidential way due to their real-time feedback, scalability, and increased student engagement . Chatbots have been used in different educational fields, such as mathematics education, nursing education, , and chemical education, − and especially in online courses. − The primary constraint on chatbot implementation has been the capabilities of the natural language processing, which limits the ability to have in-depth customized conversations, leading to the conclusion that chatbots can supplement, but not replace, classroom activities . Despite this limitation, chatbots have been used in diverse and creative ways, such as being learning partners, to support exam preparation, to answer frequently asked questions, , and as virtual students with misconceptions to support an authentic, meaningful, and open-ended teaching situation with preservice teachers .…”

Comparing the Performance of College Chemistry Students with ChatGPT for Calculations Involving Acids and Bases

“…Perspectives on chatbot technology among educators are not entirely negative, with some concluding ChatGPT is not a high-risk technology in relation to cheating and others optimiztically pointing to a chatbot’s potential to support student learning in an interactive way with real-time feedback that is scalable and has the potential for increased student engagement . Chatbots have already been used in educational settings − and ChatGPT’s performance on science questions has significantly improved in a just a few months following its release . A chatbot’s use as an instructional resource depends on its ability to provide the correct responses and explanations.…”

Developing a Curated Chatbot as an Exploratory Communication Tool for Chemistry Learning

“…For the former, assessments can be readily measured for topics such as learning a language 13,17−20 and other technical and practical skills. 14,16,21 Within chemistry, chatbots have been implemented to prepare students for formal assessments as detailed by Korsakova et al 22 While comparative studies show mixed results of students learning more with chatbots, research has shown that chatbots keep students engaged. 11,23,24 When online distance learning significantly increased due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of digital tools, including chatbots, also increased.…”

“…The utility of chatbots in education and education research has been manifested through studies on critical thinking of knowledge acquired and learner engagement. For the former, assessments can be readily measured for topics such as learning a language ,− and other technical and practical skills. ,, Within chemistry, chatbots have been implemented to prepare students for formal assessments as detailed by Korsakova et al While comparative studies show mixed results of students learning more with chatbots, research has shown that chatbots keep students engaged. ,, When online distance learning significantly increased due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of digital tools, including chatbots, also increased. In fact, with the emergence of generative artificial intelligence informing chatbots such as ChatGPT, studies on the impact and extent of digital assistance in education have become a central topic. − Other efforts in the science education community have used machine learning and software tools to provide feedback or assessment for writing experiences. − However, the instructor-curated content for chatbots described in this paper expands on the understanding of how students use this tool to explore course content.…”