Transitioning to virtual reality learning in 5E learning model: pedagogical practices for science learning

ABSTRACT

Virtual Reality (VR) has been widely adopted in educational research; however, its implementation in the classroom is still not as well known as in the research field. In other words, there is a gap between researchers and practitioners regarding the pedagogical issue. This study aimed to explore how VR could be applied in science classrooms using the 5E learning model approach, thus providing an overview of VR implementation from teachers’ perspectives. The method was a qualitative study in which it was validated using methodological triangulation, including open-ended questions, video-recording observations, and field notes. The finding revealed that learning science using VR for visualizing abstract concepts was suitable to be integrated with the 5E learning model, which provided an authentic opportunity for students to become curious and engage in the inquiry process. However, teachers should guide students to avoid misconceptions during the learning process. Moreover, this finding provides practical insights where an elaboration prompt is required before using a VR headset to turn the potential of VR into actual in-depth learning. Finally, 5E learning implementation can be integrated with other learning approaches, such as situated learning and guided inquiry learning, to suit the contents and teachers’ pedagogical knowledge.

KEYWORDS:

• 5E learning model
• science learning
• virtual reality
• weightlessness
• qualitative study

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Author contributions

Chih-hung Lin: Investigation, Supervision, Validation, Funding acquisition, Writing-Reviewing and Editing. Dadan Sumardani: Conceptualization, Methodology, Software, Data curation, Writing- Original draft preparation.

Consent to participate

No clinical investigation is carried out on humans and animals.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Data availability

The data supporting the findings of this study, including Appendix and all code for data analysis associated with the current submission, are available at https://doi.org/10.17605/osf.io/2pzjy. Derived data supporting the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author Dadan Sumardani on request.

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval

- All participants in the research were purely voluntary and understood the process in which they were to be engaged. The participants’ data were anonymized and kept confidential in the research.

- All quantitative and qualitative data sets of this research, which are anonymized, can be made available by individual application directly to the authors. The applicant should clearly describe where and how they will use the data sets in their contact letter. The applicant should also cite the source of the data sets in their ongoing papers.

- As an expert scientist and along with co-authors of the concerned field, the paper has been submitted with full responsibility, following the due ethical procedure, and there is no duplicate publication, fraud, plagiarism, or concerns about animal or human experimentation.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by National Science and Technology Council of Taiwan: [Grant Number MOST 109-2511-H-415-004,MOST 110-2511-H-415-002].