Impacts of a spherical video-based virtual reality-integrated problem-based learning mode on working staff’s counseling competences in professional training

ABSTRACT

Immersing learners in authentic scenarios to prompt them to apply what they have learned to problem solving is an essential learning approach in medical and nursing education. However, nurses often do not have the opportunity to experience many specialized or emergency situations in the real world, such as providing grief counseling to terminally ill patients and their families. Therefore, this study proposed a model of Problem-Based Learning (PBL) in Virtual Reality (VR) which allowed learners to experience the sorrowful scenario of dealing with families facing a “patient nearing end of life,” and to learn grief counseling strategies. To validate the effectiveness of this learning method, a quasi-experimental design was conducted in a nurse preceptor training course in a teaching hospital. The participants were 34 nurses from a teaching hospital in Taiwan, randomly assigned to two groups; the experimental group adopted a Spherical Video-based Virtual Reality-integrated Problem-Based Learning (SVVR-PBL) model, while the control group utilized a Conventional PBL (C-PBL) model. Experimental results indicated that the SVVR-PBL model can better enhance nurses’ professional knowledge in palliative care, and supports superior memory retention. Simultaneously, in terms of attitudes toward palliative care, problem-solving orientation, and perceived value, it also significantly outperformed the C-PBL model.

KEYWORDS:

• Interactive learning environments
• virtual reality
• problem-based learning
• professional training
• nursing education

Disclosure statement

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

Additional information

Funding

This study is supported in part by the National Science and Technology Council of Taiwan under contract numbers NSTC 112-2410-H-011-012-MY3 and MOST 111-2410-H-011 −007 -MY3. The study is also supported by the “Empower Vocational Education Research Center” of National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (NTUST) from the Featured Areas Research Center Program within the framework of the Higher Education Sprout Project by the Ministry of Education (MOE) in Taiwan.

Notes on contributors

Chia-Jung Li

Chia-Jung Li is currently a PhD student of the Graduate Institute of Digital Learning and Education, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, as well as a Head nurse of the Nursing Department of Shuang Ho Hospital, Taipei Medical University, New Taipei City, Taiwan. Her interests include technology-enhanced learning and nursing education.

Ching-Yi Chang

Ching-Yi Chang is an assistant professor at the Department of School of Nursing, College of Nursing, Taipei Medical University. She is also a supervisor at the Department of Nursing, Shuang Ho Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taiwan. Her research interests include maternal and child health, mobile learning, digital game-based learning, flipped classrooms, medical education, and nursing education.

Chen-Hui Lin

Chen-Hui Lin is currently a deputy director of the Nursing Department of Shuang Ho Hospital, Taipei Medical University, New Taipei City, Taiwan. Her interests include technology-enhanced learning and nursing education.

Gwo-Jen Hwang

Gwo-Jen Hwang is a chair professor at the Graduate Institute of Educational Information and Measurement, National Taichung University of Education, and a chair professor at the Graduate Institute of Digital Learning and Education, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taiwan. He is also the Emeritus Chair Professor of Yuan Ze University, Taiwan. His research interests include mobile learning, digital game-based learning, flipped classrooms, and artificial intelligence in education.