Exploring 3-D virtual reality technology for spatial ability and chemistry achievement

We investigated the potential of Second Life® (SL), a three‐dimensional (3‐D) virtual world, to enhance undergraduate students’ learning of a vital chemistry concept. A quasi‐experimental pre‐posttest control group design was used to conduct the study. A total of 387 participants completed three ass...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Journal of computer assisted learning Vol. 29; no. 6; pp. 579 - 590
Main Authors:	Merchant, Z., Goetz, E.T., Keeney-Kennicutt, W., Cifuentes, L., Kwok, O., Davis, T.J.
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Oxford Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01-12-2013 Wiley-Blackwell Blackwell Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
Subjects:	3-D virtual worlds Achievement Tests Biological and medical sciences CAI Chemistry chemistry achievement Comparative Analysis Computer assisted instruction Computer Simulation Concept Formation Control Groups Covariance Educational psychology Educational Technology Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology Impact analysis Instructional Effectiveness Learning Molecular Structure Pretests Posttests Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry Psychology. Psychophysiology Psychopedagogics. Didactics Quasiexperimental Design Science education Science Tests Scientific Concepts Second Life Simulated Environment Spatial Ability spatial instruction Students Subgroups Three dimensional Two dimensional Undergraduate Students virtual environment spatial ability Virtual reality Human virtual environment spatial ability Spatial ability Cognition Three dimensional space Instruction Chemistry Virtual reality 3-D virtual worlds chemistry achievement Computer assisted teaching Second Life Achievement spatial instruction
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Summary:	We investigated the potential of Second Life® (SL), a three‐dimensional (3‐D) virtual world, to enhance undergraduate students’ learning of a vital chemistry concept. A quasi‐experimental pre‐posttest control group design was used to conduct the study. A total of 387 participants completed three assignment activities either in SL or using two‐dimensional (2‐D) images. Students were administered an 11‐question chemistry achievement test and two measures of spatial ability (Purdue Visualization of Rotations Test, Card Rotations Test). Although analyses of covariance revealed no statistically significant differences between the two groups as a whole for any of the outcome measures, a subgroup analyses was conducted to decompose the relative impact of 3‐D virtual reality instruction within SL. We found that students classified as having poor spatial ability showed significantly greater improvement in understanding the 3‐D nature of molecules if they did relevant activities in a 3‐D virtual world than those students who only worked with 2‐D images.
Bibliography:	ark:/67375/WNG-5JGFD3JL-W istex:638B9A9A8BF6E4B6D47FDE82EB7B664741F5565B ArticleID:JCAL12018 ObjectType-Article-2 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-1 content type line 23 ObjectType-Article-1 ObjectType-Report-2
ISSN:	0266-4909 1365-2729
DOI:	10.1111/jcal.12018