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Exploring the Impact of Extended Reality (XR) on Spatial Reasoning of Elementary Students

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Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate how the consumption and production of extended reality (XR) video content impacted elementary student spatial reasoning skills. Third- and fourth-grade elementary students (aged 8 to 11) were given a four-week intervention in which they first consumed virtual reality (VR) video for two weeks. During the third week, they created their own videos using 360-degree video cameras. In the final week, the students were given the opportunity to watch the videos they created using VR headsets. Students were given a spatial reasoning pre-test and post-test to measure the change in spatial reasoning ability over the four weeks. The results indicated that the consumption and production of XR video led to an improvement in overall spatial reasoning ability of elementary students learning science. This study contributes to the growing body of literature supporting the positive effects of the use of XR in the classroom and opens the door to further opportunities to analyze how student production of 360-degree videos and related VR can lead to positive learning outcomes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ohio Northern University, Ada, OH, USA

    Emily Baumgartner

  2. Kent State University, Kent, OH, USA

    Richard E. Ferdig & Enrico Gandolfi

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  1. Emily Baumgartner
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  3. Enrico Gandolfi
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Correspondence to Emily Baumgartner.

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This study received Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval for research involving human participants from Kent State University. Additionally, all students involved in this study had a signed parental consent form.

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Baumgartner, E., Ferdig, R.E. & Gandolfi, E. Exploring the Impact of Extended Reality (XR) on Spatial Reasoning of Elementary Students. TechTrends 66, 825–836 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11528-022-00753-6

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