he Virtual Playground: an Educational Virtual Reality Environment for Evaluating Interactivity and Conceptual Learning

Figure 7. The non-VR condition involved redesigning the layout of the playground using
LEGO™ bricks.

After the main experience was completed (activity in the interactive VR
scenario, participation in the passive VR scenario, or activity with LEGO
bricks), the participant was asked to complete a post-test with questions
related to fractions, similar to the pre-test. Finally, every participant was
interviewed about her experience by the observer, who noted the specific
actions in which the participant had problems with, and directed the
participant to reflect on these accordingly.

6. Observations

The studies have resulted in an enormous pool of data of multiple types,
analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively. The quantitative analysis
showed no meaningful association between the different variables, such as
gender, age, and condition, on student performance (measured through the
pre- and post-tests). Therefore, for this paper we have chosen to present
specific examples, extracted from the qualitative analysis, that provide us
with interesting observations of student activity; instances of internal
contradictions such as the ones that occurred during the analysis of the
exploratory study involving column construction. The pool of data was
reduced -selected and condensed into a manageable form- by means of an
inductive analysis, which produced central themes and patterns that emerged
during this analysis. The themes reported below have been chosen based on
their being representative of typical experiences or learning problems.

16

<<   13   14   15   16   17   18   19   >>

More intriguing information