Evaluation of Internal and External Validity of a Virtual Environment for Learning a Long Procedure

ABSTRACT

Virtual reality is a frequently used tool in vocational training. Nevertheless, its efficiency has not been systematically tested. The main goal of this study is to assess the effectiveness of a virtual environment (VE) for learning a complex procedure in the biomedical domain. Two experiments were performed. The first one assessed internal validity of the VE, which is the effectiveness of using a VE in the process of learning a new procedure. The second one tested external validity of the VE, which is the participants’ ability to reproduce the acquired skills in a real context. We find that internal and external validity must be evaluated before using a virtual environment in long-term procedure learning. The results of such evaluations are a basis for future experiments aiming to optimize learning conditions in a VE and transferring the acquired skills in a real context.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Charlotte Hoareau

Charlotte Hoareau obtained her Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology and Ergonomics at the University of Brest in 2016. She is a member of the IHSEV team of the Lab-STICC laboratory. She specializes in procedural learning, virtual environment for training, and assessment of new interfaces as well as virtual environments.

Ronan Querrec

Ronan Querrec received a Habilitation to Direct Researches degree in 2010 and a PhD degree in 2001. He is a member of the board of directors of the French Association for Virtual Reality (AFRV). He is at the head of the CERV (Research Center for Virtual Reality).

Cédric Buche

Cédric Buche received a Habilitation to Direct Researches degree in 2012 and a PhD degree in 2005. He is a member of the board of directors of the French Association for Artificial Intelligence (AFIA). He is the Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Virtual Reality (IJRV).

Franck Ganier

Franck Ganier is a professor of Cognitive Psychology and Ergonomics at the University of Brest, France. He is a member of the Lab-STICC Laboratory, European Centre for Virtual Reality. His research interests concern procedural learning, processes for comprehending instructions, and methods for evaluating technical documents as well as virtual environments.