Empirical Research On The Design And Application Of Inquiry Experiments Based On Different Virtual Environments

Nowadays,as virtual reality technology gradually enters the classrooms of primary and middle schools,how to improve students’ learning effects in virtual science laboratories has become the focus of education researchers.Through literature review,previous studies usually compare virtual laboratories with traditional ones.At present,there is no large amount of research to explore the impact of the difference between the three-dimensional(3D)virtual experiment environment and the two-dimensional(2D)virtual experiment environment on the academic performance.This empirical research will mainly focus on the virtual environment and teaching methods in different inquiry experiments.This research first designed the framework of the inquiry virtual experiment and then elaborated the experimental task list of "Exploring the law of the current in series and parallel circuits" based on the framework and the physics and set up the virtual experiment environment.In order to measure the learning variables of students,this research designed a set of comprehensive scales from the multi-disciplinary perspectives of educational technology and educational psychology,and implemented it in a school in Huangpu District,Shanghai.In terms of research design,this paper adopts a two-factor inter-group design to study the effects of virtual experiment environment(3D virtual environment VS.2D virtual environment)and teaching methods(Teacher lecture VS.Watch video)on academic performance,learning engagement,cognitive load,immersion,learning interest,perceived usefulness and other variables.Through the two-factor analysis of variance on the experimental data of 120 subjects,the following conclusions are obtained: First,the teaching method has no significant impact on the academic performance,and the virtual environment has a significant impact on the academic performance.To be specific,the performance of the 3D virtual laboratory is significantly higher than the 2D virtual laboratory.Two independent variables of teaching method and virtual environment have no interactive effect on academic performance.Second,the virtual environment has a significant impact on self-efficacy.The self-efficacy of the 3D virtual laboratory is lower than that of the 2D virtual laboratory;there is no interaction effect between the teaching method and the virtual environment on the self-efficacy.Third,teaching methods and virtual environments have no significant impact on the cognitive load,perceived usefulness and learning interest.Fourth,teaching methods have a significant impact on learners’ immersion.To be specific,the immersion of the video watching group is significantly higher than the immersion of the teacher lecture group.The experimental results above provide an inspiration and reference for future research in the field of virtual experiments in primary and secondary schools.This research provides suggestions on how to improve students’ academic performance in inquiry virtual experiments.It also provides new insights and scientific basis for the subsequent virtual experiment environment design and selection of teaching methods: First,teachers should encourage students to go to 3D virtual experiments.More inquiry experiments should be carried out in the laboratory to improve the learning performance.Second,in the 3D virtual laboratory,teachers should design appropriate guidance materials and build a learner-centered virtual experimental environment to reduce technical complexity and operational anxiety,which can enhance students’ sense of self-efficacy.Third,teachers should be good at guiding students to reflect in time after the experiment to improve students’ operational norms in the virtual laboratory.