Virtual Reality Simulations and Writing a Neuroimaging Study in Science Education

This study investigates the role that textbooks, virtual reality (VR), and mixed approaches (i.e., text and VR) can play in the development of the two writing types, summary and argument writing. This study uses hemodynamics as a proxy for learning. Differences in hemodynamic responses during writin...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of science education and technology Vol. 28; no. 5; pp. 542 - 552
Main Authors Lamb, Richard L., Etopio, Elisabeth
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Dordrecht Springer Science + Business Media 01.10.2019
Springer Netherlands
Springer
Springer Nature B.V
Subjects
Adult education
Adult Learning
Adult Students
College Students
Computer applications
Computer Simulation
Education
Educational Technology
Environment
Hemodynamic responses
Hemodynamics
Marine Biology
Marine environment
Medical imaging
Neuroimaging
Neurology
Neurosciences
Persuasive Discourse
Science Education
Science Instruction
Sciences education
Technical Writing
Textbooks
Virtual environments
Virtual reality
Writing
Writing (Composition)
Writing in science
Neuroimaging
fNIRS
Virtual reality
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Summary:This study investigates the role that textbooks, virtual reality (VR), and mixed approaches (i.e., text and VR) can play in the development of the two writing types, summary and argument writing. This study uses hemodynamics as a proxy for learning. Differences in hemodynamic responses during writing tasks were measured across four different pedagogical modalities: VR alone, VR followed by textbook readings, textbook readings followed by VR, and textbook readings alone. Adult students N = 80, recruited from non-science-based higher education programs, responded to two prompts related to content found in the VR environment and discussed in the textbook. The authors hypothesized that exposure to a virtual marine environment prior to writing would enhance the two writing products, when compared with participants who only had access to textbook experiences. Of the four conditions participants exposed to the VR environment then a textbook demonstrated significantly greater hemodynamic response than those who had access to VR alone or text alone.
ISSN:1059-0145
1573-1839
DOI:10.1007/s10956-019-09785-9