Exploring a pedagogical rationale for VR and immersive learning

My journey with VR and immersive learning began with my work on our Virtual Reality wall.  I detail extensively my approach and progress of that work.  Firstly, my interest in VR and immersive learning is grounded as a specialist area within my role.  But I am specifically interested in the following, in that particular order:

• Principles and design of immersive learning; connections to healthcare context through simulations, scenario-based learning etc
• Ideas, proof-of-concept outlines, prototypes facilitation
• Technology / digital solutions (we already have high-quality equipment and purpose-built spaces)

The following is the start of a rationale to underpin and shape pedagogy and evaluation of VR and immersive learning.  This small piece also appeared in my SFHEA and SCMALT applications.  However, this needs further research and exploration, especially in each of the principles.  But what it aims to provide is a pedagogical starting point, a foundation in which to build upon.  Which wider potential to develop checklists and workflows of making VR and immersive learning effective in our curriculum.

Additionally, there is wider collaborative research and publication piece attached to this rationale, with links to a learning activity that I have been developing with a lecturer, on the multi-agency consultation panel; a pure listening activity.  The lecturer has captured student evaluation data, which we have yet to analyse.  I'll probably talk more about this in a future blog post.

Exploring a pedagogical rationale for VR and immersive learning

VR enables users (students) to experience realistic or imaginary digital environments and interactable digital objects within them.  An immersive experience allowing them to resonate emotionally and physically to what they are seeing, hearing, smelling/tasting or touching (Clark 2022, Taylor et al 2021).  As the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated digital and online healthcare education, online learning, including the use of VR simulations and virtual placements, will continue to be integral to healthcare curricula, both digital and in-person.  With increased recognition for digital divide and poverty amongst students to access remotely (Turner & Fanner 2022).  This brings new learning challenges for our lecturers in using such intensive VR kit, peripheral devices such as headsets and mobile devices and online authoring tools such as H5P and its Virtual Tour (360) content type.

VR is often underpinned by simulations or scenario-based learning, which are identified as a practice learning type, one of six learning types developed by Laurillard (2012).  This learning type is effective when students are given the opportunity to apply theory to practice, this can be achieved through learning by doing or experiential learning activities.  These type of activities enable students to learn and practise responses/actions and allowing opportunities to receive feedback via self-reflection, peer, lecturer or through the activity itself.  In order to improve their response/action through next time (Laurillard 2012: Scott 2022).

To help create an effective VR immersive experience, I have identified the following principles introduced by Clark (2022) by way of defining pedagogies, and to inform the design and development base of our VR immersive walls and further integrate into the digital curriculum.

1. Emotion – intense.  Emotional connection and affective impact to induce motivation.
2. Attention – total focus.  An environment that commands and maintains undivided attention.  Blocking distractions and focusing on the experience to create full immersion.
3. Experiential – learn by doing.  Carrying out real-world tasks to develop individuals recall and performance in response to something.
4. Context – keep it real.  Use of real-world information, equipment, tasks and colleagues/clients/patients etc.
5. Collaboration – communicating and working together as avatars or outside of the VR.
6. Transfer – to real world.  Applying the knowledge learnt from the VR world into the real world.
7. Retention (recall) – increases.  Consolidated long-term memory needs conditions (focused, vivid, intense, relevant, real, practical, contextualised, the impossible) and repeated practice to develop competent recall.

References:

Clark, D (2022) Learning Experience Design: How to Create Effective Learning that Works. London: Kogan Page.

Laurillard, D (2012) Teaching as a Design Science: Building Pedagogical Patterns for Learning and Technology. London: Routledge.

Scott, D (2022) Digital Learning, Teaching and Assessment for HE and FE Practitioners. Northwich: Critical Publishing.

Turner, D, Fanner, M (2022) Digital Connection in Health and Social Work: Perspectives from Covid-19. Northwich: Critical Publishing.

Taylor, N et al (2021) Developing and piloting a simulated placement experience for students. British Journal of Nursing, 2021, Vol 30, No 13 (Nutrition Supplement).

Developing VR and immersive learning expertise

I've got lots of literature to digest and summarise!  Obviously across the areas of VR, immersive learning, multimedia and learning design.  However, I initially started off by self-assessing where I am at with these topics; what do I think I need to know more about to understand these topics better?  What do I currently know about this topic and is it sufficient, current and valid enough?

Which then led me to ponder:

• What is immersive learning?
• What is Virtual Reality (VR) and how does it blend with immersive approaches?
• What are the definitions, key features of VR and immersive learning?
• What are the challenges and considerations using these methods?
• What are the benefits for students and lecturers when using this method?
• What are principles and pedagogy of creating an immersive learning environment with VR?
• What can it offer healthcare HE?

Additionally, I saw the following University of Leeds, Leeds Institute for Teaching Excellence (LITE) Fellowship – Immersive Learning Design job description.  Which absolutely resonates with my extended questions on this topic:

• "How do we adapt existing or develop new learning design methods to ensure that immersive learning experiences provide an equitable, engaging, and active learning experience to students?
• What partnerships are needed between academic experts, learning design professionals, immersive learning technology specialists, and teachers to develop sustainable immersive learning experience at scale?
• What are the evaluation priorities for assessing the effectiveness of immersive learning design and how can lessons learned and insights be rapidly integrated into future developments?"

EDIT:  At the Jisc XR community meet up, held on the 27th June, Gary Burnett delivered his presentation on virtual worlds.  Whilst it was about virtual worlds, his research question aligns to what I am trying to undertake for our institution:

"How do you design an engaging and effective long-term VR experience for University students?"  Alongside it presented as a venn diagram:

"1. Student/teacher experience

2. Virtual world design/use

3. Being an avatar

4. Immersive vs non-immersive VR

5. Mixed reality blended learning"

Trent Institute for Learning and Teaching (TILT) VR and Immersive Learning Practice and Scholarship group

See my blog post 'TILT Virtual Reality and Immersive Learning Practice and Scholarship group'.

Additional anecdotal thoughts related to this topic

I recently watched the Netflix movie the Fall.  It was low budget but managed to immerse me in a great way through the illusion of height.  I've a fear of heights so it made me feel nauseous through most of the movie.  Whilst the movie wasn't shot in a full 360° backdrop technology like The Mandalorian, it managed to convince me the derelict radio tower the characters got trapped on was really that high.   However, the story, narrative and characters and their acting has to be strong in order to reinforce the visuals, sounds and props - debatable but it gripped me.

Me and Gary have started a Dungeons and Dragons campaign with our friends - never played it before and I am hooked.  I feel that this type of gameplay is immersive.  As at the heart of it what got me was: strong storytelling, creativity in the moment, teamwork, knowing your character/brief.  To which all of that can be applied to immersive learning activities.

EDIT:

Blog post by Jisc 'Immersive technologies and sustainability: the key challenges and opportunities ahead', 10 July 2023.