ABSTRACT

Background

An increasing number of educational institutions are incorporating virtual reality (VR) applications in the instruction methodology for their laboratory science courses. However, there is debate about the use of the physical vs. the virtual lab as according to research the former offers a positive research-training environment, whereas the latter offers safe and repeated practice in combination with an engaging experience.

Purpose

This study explores whether virtualization applied to practically oriented education can: a) fulfill specific educational goals which correspond to the six levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy, b) raise students’ confidence about their knowledge and c) help students learn how to use an optical microscope in a physical biology lab.

Sample

Fifteen graduates of the Athens University Department of Primary Education in Greece attending postgraduate studies in Science Education.

Methods

The sample was separated into two cognitively balanced groups to be educated on microscopy by two educational methods: a) the traditional tutorial and demonstration method, and b) our proposed tutorial and simulation method with a VR biology lab, Onlabs. Participants completed both a Pre- and a Post-test to assess the acquired knowledge, and a worksheet to assess their ability to operate a real optical microscope.

Results

Participants in the experimental group obtained higher Post-test scores and were better educated to correctly answer different types of questions corresponding to Bloom’s Taxonomy than were members of the control group. Moreover, when working in the physical lab after having used Onlabs, the experimental group was more knowledgeable about the required experimentation skills compared to the control group.

Conclusion

Our findings provided evidence in favor of using simulations. They pointed out that including simulations as a supplementary tool to the traditional face-to-face tutorials is a very promising prospective for grasping the details of laboratory knowledge, in a postgraduate program in Science Education.

中文翻译：

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通过在面对面教程的基础上采用虚拟现实实验室来实现显微镜教育的教育目标

摘要

背景

越来越多的教育机构正在将虚拟现实 (VR) 应用程序纳入其实验室科学课程的教学方法中。然而，关于物理实验室与虚拟实验室的使用存在争议，因为根据研究，前者提供了积极的研究培训环境，而后者提供了安全和重复的实践以及引人入胜的体验。

目的

本研究探讨了将虚拟化应用于面向实践的教育是否可以：a) 实现与 Bloom 分类学的六个级别相对应的特定教育目标，b) 提高​​学生对知识的信心，c) 帮助学生学习如何使用光学显微镜物理生物学实验室。

样本

希腊雅典大学小学教育系的 15 名毕业生就读科学教育研究生课程。

方法

样本被分成两个认知平衡的组，通过两种教育方法接受显微镜教育：a) 传统的教程和演示方法，b) 我们提出的教程和模拟方法与 VR 生物实验室 Onlabs。参与者完成了一项前测和后测以评估所获得的知识，并完成了一份工作表以评估他们操作真实光学显微镜的能力。

结果

与对照组的成员相比，实验组的参与者获得了更高的后测分数，并且受过更好的教育，能够正确回答与布鲁姆分类法相对应的不同类型的问题。此外，在使用 Onlabs 后在物理实验室工作时，与对照组相比，实验组更了解所需的实验技能。

结论

我们的研究结果提供了支持使用模拟的证据。他们指出，在科学教育的研究生课程中，将模拟作为传统面对面教程的补充工具是掌握实验室知识细节的一个非常有前景的前景。