Making in virtual reality environments: a case study of K-12 teachers’ perceptions on the educational affordances of virtual reality for maker-centered learning

Abstract

The emergence of immersive VR technology in K-12 educational spaces has created a need for research examining the affordances and constraints of this technology for student learning. The current study uses a case-study methodology to illustrate K-12 secondary science teachers’ perceived affordances and constraints of using immersive VR tools to develop maker-centered learning experiences which align with curricular goals following a professional development experience. Findings suggest teachers were able to design student-centered maker learning experiences using immersive VR devices that addressed K-12 science content. In addition, participants discovered ways to overcome reported challenges, and develop teaching artifacts as well. This study offers a model for teacher educators in this area, examples of curriculum aligned learning activities, and provides a foundation for future research on integration of VR in K-12 contexts.

Appendices

Appendix 1

Weekly breakdown of professional development experience

Week	Description of activities	Tasks for the week
Pre-PD	Before beginning the PD, each participant will engage in a one-on-one pre-PD interview	No tasks for the week
Week 1	Group introduction to the Meta Quest and Gravity Sketch Meta Quest basics  Charging  Internet connection  Navigation  Accessing Gravity Sketch  Screen recording Gravity Sketch Basics  Starting a project  Using the basic tools  Saving Show the participants the Schoology group that we will use for much of the communication—in order to streamline communication, provide opportunities for collaboration and troubleshooting, and to easily share video files Due to COVID-19 health concerns the majority of the interaction will take place virtually Distribute a copy of Maker-Centered Learning (Clapp et al., 2017) and an Meta Quest to each participant	Explore the Gravity Sketch App  Communicate questions through Schoology  Share interesting findings in Schoology Read a section of Maker-Centered Learning (Clapp et al., 2017)
Week 2	Semi-structured Mini VR Maker Faire Purpose:  Learn how their first week of using the new tools went  Address any questions that were or were not posted in Schoology  Have anyone share successes for the week  Share any artifacts made by the participants	Create something using Gravity Sketch to share with the group  This could be anything— it could relate to content you teach or not  Upload a short screen recording (1–2 min tops) of you explaining what you made to Schoology
Week 3	Semi-structured Mini VR Maker Faire Purpose:  Address any questions that were or were not posted in Schoology  Have anyone share successes for the week  Share artifacts and explain how you were able to create what you did	Make another artifact in Gravity Sketch and record a short video showing off what you made similar to last week  Upload video to Schoology Begin to look at the science content you teach (this could be upcoming content or something you’ve already taught)  Think about how HMD VR and Gravity Sketch could be used to address curricular goals in the classroom
Week 4	Semi-structured Mini VR Maker Faire Purpose:  Address any questions that were or were not posted in Schoology  Have anyone share successes for the week  Share artifacts and explain how you were able to create what you did  Share content connections and plan	Begin working on artifact that connects to content
Week 5	Semi-structured Mini VR Maker Faire This will focus on the lesson plan format we will use  The goal is to be simple yet effective	Continue working on artifact that connects to content Begin working on lesson plan write up
Week 6	No semi-structured Mini VR Maker Faire (unless something comes up in Schoology)	Finish artifact Finish lesson plan write up  Record video explaining the artifact and content connections  Upload to Schoology
Week 7	Semi-structured Mini VR Maker Faire Group reflections on the process Share videos of final artifacts and lesson plans	No tasks for Week 7
Week 8	Individual semi-structured post-PD interviews More in-depth questions about the process	No tasks for Week 8

Appendix 2

Pre-PD interview question	Example probing sub questions
Can you describe the experience you have had with VR in the past?	Was this experience related to your work as a teacher at all? Have you ever used VR as a tool to make something? If so can you describe the experience?
How would you describe your interest-level in VR?
Do you see VR as a tool that could be integrated into your classroom?	If so, how could VR be used as a tool in your classroom?
Do you ever incorporate students making things in your classroom?	If so, do you see any benefits to students making things in your classroom? If not, do you see any possible benefits to students making things in your classroom? Is this something that you could tie to the content you teach? Why or why not?
What are you hoping to get out of this professional development experience?

Appendix 3

Post-PD interview question	Example probing sub questions
Can you describe the artifacts you made during the PD experience?	What inspired you to create these particular artifacts?
What was it like learning to use VR as a creative tool?	Did you get more comfortable using VR through this process? Why or why not?
How did it make you feel to create something in VR?	Did this PD experience inspire you to want to do this in your classroom?
What did you like about creating in VR?
Did you face any struggles during the PD when you were trying to complete the tasks each week?	Do you think students would face any of these struggles if you were to implement this in your classroom? As a teacher how would you address these struggles?
Has making or creating an object using VR helped you understand something besides what you set out to create?
Can you describe what it was like connecting VR to your content area?
Was this experience beneficial to you? If so, how?	How would you compare this professional development experience to previous professional developments as a teacher? Did you feel a sense of community throughout the PD experience?
What did you learn through this professional development experience?	What was the most difficult aspect of the professional development? Why? Were you anxious about anything when learning about what the professional development entailed?
Do you see VR as a tool you could use in your classroom?	Why or why not? How would you like to use VR in your classroom? Is there anything standing in the way of you using VR in your classroom?
What could have improved your learning during this PD experience?

Appendix 4

Building DNA Using VR

Curricular Standard

• BIO 5. The student will investigate and understand common mechanisms of inheritance and protein synthesis. Key concepts include e) historical development of the structural model of DNA; f) genetic variation; i) use, limitations, and misuse of genetic information; and j) exploration of the impact of DNA technologies.

Background knowledge

• Students will have learned about the different parts of DNA. They would have had an introduction to nucleotides and the structure of DNA with the sugar/phosphate backbone and the A,T,C,G nucleotide bases.

Describe what the students will be doing

• Students will be building their own model of DNA in gravity sketch that includes the sugar/phosphate backbone, nucleotide bases, and the bases properly matched up. All parts will need to be labeled by the students.

Describe what the you as the teacher will be doing

• The teacher will provide an introduction to DNA and the gravity sketch program prior to students building the 3D model. The teacher will also monitor students and help troubleshoot any issues students may have while building the model.

Outcomes—what would you like the students to come out of this learning experience with?

• I would like students to understand the structure of DNA and how the parts of a nucleotide join together for honors biology or regular biology. I would also love to do this at an upper level with AP Biology or genetics and biotech and have students add on to the model and show DNA replication or protein synthesis.

Additional notes (if needed)

• This can be easily differentiated depending on the type of student you had. You could start with all the pieces already there for students to put together and label, OR you could give them a set of DNA bases they had to create the base pairs to match it, or you could get really high level with AP Biology students and start with DNA but students have to take it apart (unzip the DNA) and the show replication, and lead into protein synthesis.