Polymer Warriors: A Gamified Virtual-Real Integration Model for Task-Driven Learning in Polymer Chemistry Laboratories

Polymer chemistry is a pivotal discipline with widespread applications, necessitating educational approaches that effectively integrate theoretical knowledge with advanced practical and innovative skills. Traditional experimental teaching methodologies, often characterized by prescriptive “recipe-following”, face significant challenges, including reduced student engagement, safety concerns, and limited development of critical thinking abilities. This study addresses these pedagogical challenges by designing, implementing, and evaluating an innovative situational task-driven teaching model that incorporates virtual simulation technology within a polymer chemistry experiment course. The model is framed within an immersive “Polymer Warriors” narrative, integrating game-based elements such as role-playing, a point/level system, and collaborative challenges to enhance the learning experience. A quasi-experimental study involving 140 sophomore materials chemistry students was conducted to investigate three research questions focused on student engagement, skill acquisition, and teamwork development. The results demonstrate that the situational task-driven approach significantly improved the experiment completion rate compared to traditional methods (96.2% vs 77.4%), enhanced student interest (average self-reported score 8.9/10 vs 5.8/10 in the control group), increased practical skill scores (85.4 vs 73.1), and improved perceived teamwork skills (89.7% agreement vs 53.2% in the control group). The “virtual-physical integration” framework provided a safe, immersive environment for skill development and successfully fostered greater cognitive engagement, collaborative problem-solving abilities, and innovative thinking. Detailed assessment data and an implementation guide are provided to facilitate adoption in diverse educational settings.