Unit 3 - Educational Applications of VR

Unit 3: Educational Applications of VR

3.4 VR and Experiential Learning

Experiential Learning occurs when students learn by doing and then reflect upon their experiences. The use of VR can support experiential learning by allowing learners to practice skills or abilities that they may need to perform in real life situations.

The sample assignment, Using VR for Self-Care is a good example of experiential learning. In that assignment there are multiple learning outcomes; to get students to develop their VR skills, to get them to think about how they would use VR in their own self care, and to get them to think about how they might use VR in practice. All of these activities require the students to go into VR and try out various apps and experience them for their own use around self care. They are then required to reflect upon their experience through outside discussion and a short paper.

As part of Unit 1 we watched the video Using Immersive VR to Integrate Trauma Informed Principles into Human Service Agency Settings. This application of VR uses both Situated Learning, as described in the previous segment, and Experiential Learning theories.

Please read the following article that provides more detail about how VR based learning activities that incorporate experiential learning support the programmatic outcomes for the University at Buffalo, School of Social Work, Doctorate of Social Work Program. This article also details the development of the Trauma Informed Virtual Reality Environment, which was developed using Situated and Experiential Learning principles.

Sturman, S., Sperlich, M., Bakk, L., Koury, S. (2021) Development of an Immersive Virtual Reality Learning Environment: Integrating Trauma-Informed Principles into Human Service Agency Settings, Journal of Technology in Human Services, DOI: 10.1080/15228835.2021.1915925

As you read the article think about:

  • How does VR support Experiential Learning

  • How did the project developers integrate Experiential Learning principles into their program to support their desired learning outcomes

  • Consider whether Experiential Learning principles inform how you would use VR to teach the content within your course