Using virtual reality in electrostatics instruction: The impact of training

Recent years have seen a resurgence of interest in using virtual reality (VR) technology to benefit instruction, especially in physics and related subjects. As VR devices improve and become more widely available, there remains a number of unanswered questions regarding the impact of VR on student le...

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Main Authors: C. D. Porter, J. R. H. Smith, E. M. Stagar, A. Simmons, M. Nieberding, C. M. Orban, J. Brown, A. Ayers
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: American Physical Society 2020-09-01
Series:Physical Review Physics Education Research
Online Access:http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevPhysEducRes.16.020119
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spelling doaj-d7b9eb8687bc4c7a9feae66e026572a62020-11-25T03:18:14ZengAmerican Physical SocietyPhysical Review Physics Education Research2469-98962020-09-0116202011910.1103/PhysRevPhysEducRes.16.020119Using virtual reality in electrostatics instruction: The impact of trainingC. D. PorterJ. R. H. SmithE. M. StagarA. SimmonsM. NieberdingC. M. OrbanJ. BrownA. AyersRecent years have seen a resurgence of interest in using virtual reality (VR) technology to benefit instruction, especially in physics and related subjects. As VR devices improve and become more widely available, there remains a number of unanswered questions regarding the impact of VR on student learning and how best to use this technology in the classroom. On the topic of electrostatics, for example, a large, controlled, randomized study performed by Smith et al. [A controlled study of stereoscopic virtual reality in freshman electrostatics, Proceedings of the 2017 Physics Education Research Conference, Cincinnati, OH, PER Conference series (2017), pp. 376–37910.1119/perc.2017.pr.089], found that VR-based instruction had an overall negligible impact on student learning compared to videos or images. However, they did find a strong trend for students who reported frequent video game play to learn better from VR than other media. One possible interpretation of this result is that extended videogame play provides a kind of “training” that enables a student to learn more comfortably in the virtual environment. In the present work we consider if a VR training activity that is unrelated to electrostatics can help prepare students to learn electrostatics from subsequent VR instruction. We find that preliminary VR training leads to a small but statistically significant improvement in student performance on our electrostatics assessment. We also find that student reported game play is still correlated with higher scores on this metric.http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevPhysEducRes.16.020119
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author C. D. Porter
J. R. H. Smith
E. M. Stagar
A. Simmons
M. Nieberding
C. M. Orban
J. Brown
A. Ayers
spellingShingle C. D. Porter
J. R. H. Smith
E. M. Stagar
A. Simmons
M. Nieberding
C. M. Orban
J. Brown
A. Ayers
Using virtual reality in electrostatics instruction: The impact of training
Physical Review Physics Education Research
author_facet C. D. Porter
J. R. H. Smith
E. M. Stagar
A. Simmons
M. Nieberding
C. M. Orban
J. Brown
A. Ayers
author_sort C. D. Porter
title Using virtual reality in electrostatics instruction: The impact of training
title_short Using virtual reality in electrostatics instruction: The impact of training
title_full Using virtual reality in electrostatics instruction: The impact of training
title_fullStr Using virtual reality in electrostatics instruction: The impact of training
title_full_unstemmed Using virtual reality in electrostatics instruction: The impact of training
title_sort using virtual reality in electrostatics instruction: the impact of training
publisher American Physical Society
series Physical Review Physics Education Research
issn 2469-9896
publishDate 2020-09-01
description Recent years have seen a resurgence of interest in using virtual reality (VR) technology to benefit instruction, especially in physics and related subjects. As VR devices improve and become more widely available, there remains a number of unanswered questions regarding the impact of VR on student learning and how best to use this technology in the classroom. On the topic of electrostatics, for example, a large, controlled, randomized study performed by Smith et al. [A controlled study of stereoscopic virtual reality in freshman electrostatics, Proceedings of the 2017 Physics Education Research Conference, Cincinnati, OH, PER Conference series (2017), pp. 376–37910.1119/perc.2017.pr.089], found that VR-based instruction had an overall negligible impact on student learning compared to videos or images. However, they did find a strong trend for students who reported frequent video game play to learn better from VR than other media. One possible interpretation of this result is that extended videogame play provides a kind of “training” that enables a student to learn more comfortably in the virtual environment. In the present work we consider if a VR training activity that is unrelated to electrostatics can help prepare students to learn electrostatics from subsequent VR instruction. We find that preliminary VR training leads to a small but statistically significant improvement in student performance on our electrostatics assessment. We also find that student reported game play is still correlated with higher scores on this metric.
url http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevPhysEducRes.16.020119
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