Controlled Studies of Stereoscopic Virtual Reality in Freshman STEM Classes

Stereoscopic virtual reality (VR) driven by smartphones is a relatively new tool for teaching concepts that rely on detailed three-dimensional visuospatial skills. VR has long been a topic of education research, and smartphone-driven VR significantly reduces the barrier to entry for both students and instructors and can be implemented for all students at once in the classroom. However, best practices for effective VR implementation are needed. To this end, we implemented VR interventions for freshmen physics, math, and engineering classes at OSU. In the physics course, our electrostatics VR module covered vector fields. Initially, we compared VR to traditional media, and in a follow-up study, we found that training in VR can have a small but significant effect on learning gains during a VR treatment. In a multivariate calculus course, students chose between various media for viewing content. In the engineering visuospatial thinking course, we found small gains when comparing modules with and without VR treatments. Overall, we find that VR is an effective tool for increasing student engagement, but that learning gains, when present, do not seem to depend on medium. Instead, a key factor is that students have a choice to use media that they are comfortable with.