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Influence of Immersive Virtual Reality on Cognitive and Affective Learning Goals

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Innovative Approaches to Technology-Enhanced Learning for the Workplace and Higher Education (TLIC 2022)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems ((LNNS,volume 581))

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Abstract

With the increasing prevalence of immersive virtual reality (VR) systems in educational contexts, it is important to understand how the use of VR impacts cognitive, affective, and psychomotor learning processes and learning outcomes. Proponents argue that VR can improve the quality of learning by stimulating individual learning processes to generate interest and motivate them to learn. Others claim that immersive media such as VR disrupts learning by increasing distraction, which leads to a decrease in cognitive performance and a reduction in acquired knowledge. To collect evidence on how VR influences learning, we performed a quantitative study. One group received information (about environment protection) before and after being immersed in two different VR applications, which incorporate content-related informational context. The second group was presented the same information but without the VR experience. We found that cognitive learning was better for the participants without the complementary VR experience, as they remembered information better. However, affective learning was better for the participants with the complementary VR experience. One week after the presentation of the content, participants with the complementary VR experiences had an increased awareness of threats to nature as well as the commitment to act environmentally conscious. Our findings, thus, support voices stating that VR can support learning, as well as those arguing against it. Whether the use of VR is supportive depends on the learning goals.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences, Karlsruhe, Germany

    Janika Finken & Matthias Wölfel

  2. Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Sciences, Stuttgart, Germany

    Matthias Wölfel

Authors
  1. Janika Finken
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  2. Matthias Wölfel
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Correspondence to Janika Finken .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Kaleidoscope Learning, International E-Learning Association, New York, NY, USA

    David Guralnick

  2. CTI Global, Frankfurt, Germany

    Michael E. Auer

  3. Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy

    Antonella Poce

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Finken, J., Wölfel, M. (2023). Influence of Immersive Virtual Reality on Cognitive and Affective Learning Goals. In: Guralnick, D., Auer, M.E., Poce, A. (eds) Innovative Approaches to Technology-Enhanced Learning for the Workplace and Higher Education. TLIC 2022. Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems, vol 581. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-21569-8_48

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