In VR boys learn best when the teacher is a drone – girls learn better from virtual Marie
The teacher is just as important in a virtual learning environment as in a normal classroom, but a new study shows that boys and girls differ greatly in terms of how they learn best: Boys learn best when their virtual teacher comes in the form of a drone, while girls get more knowledge from VR-teaching when they are taught by a young, female researcher-type named Marie.
Our studies show that VR-learning where students train certain skills via simulations can be more effective than regular classroom teaching or learning via computers, and that it motivates and engages students more and heighten their self-efficacy. However, we need more information on when and how teaching via VR-simulations is an advantage, so we can steer clear of thoughtless investments in technology just for the sake of investing in technology without any real benefits in terms of better learning, he says.
Guido Makransky is especially interested in the pedagogical factors of VR-learning. In previous studies he has tested hundreds of high school and university student’s cognitive and emotional learning processes using electroencephalography (EEG) and by registering their sweat-responses (GSR), eye-tracking and facial expressions.
A virtual rolemodel
Since 2014 Makransky has documented in various studies that VR-learning in certain situations is more engaging and can lead to better learning outcomes compared to traditional methods. Furthermore, his latest research shows that girls and boys learning differs greatly depending on the form and appearance of the virtual teacher, the so called pedagogical agent.
In a study with 66 7th and 8th -grade students (half boys, half girls) at a Danish science talent school, Makransky and colleagues found that the girls learned most in the VR-simulations, when the VR-teacher there was a young, female researcher named Marie, whereas the boys learned more, while being instructed by a flying robot in the form of a drone.
See the full story here: https://psychology.ku.dk/news/virtual-reality-research/