This study aimed to compare the effects of immersive virtual reality (IVR) videos and 2D educational videos on cognitive (i.e. conceptual knowledge) and non-cognitive (i.e. self-efficacy) learning outcomes. Fifty-three students from an all-girls middle school learned about humans’ impact on the ocean through either IVR videos, using a virtual reality (VR) headset, or through 2D videos, using a computer monitor. Results replicate previous findings suggesting that conceptual knowledge gains between IVR and desktop learning experiences is not significant. Also, results show that participants who watched IVR videos reported higher self-efficacy scores and expressed higher feelings of presence than participants who watched the same videos using a computer monitor. Finally, further analyses revealed that the feeling of presence mediated both cognitive and non-cognitive learning outcomes.
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Collaborative Tasks in Immersive Virtual Reality Increase Learning
Advances in immersive virtual reality (IVR) are creating more computer-supported collaborative learning environments, but there is little research explicating how collaboration in IVR impacts learning. We ran a quasi-experimental study with 80 participants targeting ocean literacy learning, varying the manner in which participants interacted in IVR to investigate how the design of collaborative IVR experiences influences learning. Results are discussed through the lens of collaborative cognitive learning theory. Participants that collaborated to actively build a new environment in IVR scored higher for learning than participants who only watched an instructional guide’s avatar, or participants who watched the guide’s avatar and subsequently discussed what they learned while in IVR. Moreover, feeling negative emotions, feeling active in the environment, and feeling bonded to the group members negatively correlated with learning. Results shed light on the mechanisms behind how collaborative tasks in IVR can support learning.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1907050
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10400458
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Proceedings of the 16th International Conference on Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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Abstract A fundamental challenge in emotion research is measuring feeling states with high granularity and temporal precision without disrupting the emotion generation process. Here we introduce and validate a new approach in which responses are sparsely sampled and the missing data are recovered using a computational technique known as
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There are significant disparities between the conferring of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) bachelor’s degrees to minoritized groups and the number of STEM faculty that represent minoritized groups at four-year predominantly White institutions (PWIs). Studies show that as of 2019, African American faculty at PWIs have increased by only 2.3% in the last 20 years. This study explores the ways in which this imbalance affects minoritized students in engineering majors. Our research objective is to describe the ways in which African American students navigate their way to success in an engineering program at a PWI where the minoritized faculty representation is less than 10%. In this study, we define success as completion of an undergraduate degree and matriculation into a Ph.D. program. 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Integrating knowledge from the framework of navigational capital and its existing applications in engineering and education allows us the opportunity to learn from African American students that have succeeded in engineering programs with low minority faculty representation. The future directions of this work are to outline strategies that could enhance the path of minoritized engineering students towards success and to lay a foundation for understanding the use of navigational capital by minoritized students in engineering at PWIs. Students at PWIs can benefit from understanding their own navigational capital to help them identify ways to successfully navigate educational institutions. 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