A Virtual Tour of the Cell: Impact of Virtual Reality on Student Learning and Engagement in the STEM Classroom †
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Authors:
Jennifer A. Bennett1,*,
Colin P. Saunders2
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Received 18 July 2018 Accepted 28 February 2019 Published 26 July 2019
- ©2019 Author(s). Published by the American Society for Microbiology
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[open-access] This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ and https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode), which grants the public the nonexclusive right to copy, distribute, or display the published work.
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†Supplemental materials available at http://asmscience.org/jmbe
- Corresponding Author. Mailing Address: Department of Biology and Earth Science, Otterbein University, 1 South Grove Street, Westerville, OH 43081. Phone: 614-823-1857. Fax: 614-823-3042. E-mail: [email protected].
Abstract:
This study assesses the educational impact of virtual reality (VR) on student learning and engagement in a sophomore-level cell biology course taught at Otterbein University. Using VR, students toured the cell and its environment within the human body. Next, students completed a team challenge where they worked as pairs to match images of cell components taken from the virtual reality application with the appropriate name. Finally, students were given a voluntary survey that presented questions about their perceptions of the VR experience and the associated cell sorting activity. Survey results revealed that a majority of students enjoyed the VR experience and felt that it had a positive impact on their education. These results indicate the potential supportive role that VR may have in a variety of undergraduate courses.
References & Citations
Supplemental Material
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Appendix 1: Cell concept map assignment, Appendix 2: Student VR assessment survey, Appendix 3: Student survey results
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Abstract:
This study assesses the educational impact of virtual reality (VR) on student learning and engagement in a sophomore-level cell biology course taught at Otterbein University. Using VR, students toured the cell and its environment within the human body. Next, students completed a team challenge where they worked as pairs to match images of cell components taken from the virtual reality application with the appropriate name. Finally, students were given a voluntary survey that presented questions about their perceptions of the VR experience and the associated cell sorting activity. Survey results revealed that a majority of students enjoyed the VR experience and felt that it had a positive impact on their education. These results indicate the potential supportive role that VR may have in a variety of undergraduate courses.

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Author and Article Information
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Received 18 July 2018 Accepted 28 February 2019 Published 26 July 2019
- ©2019 Author(s). Published by the American Society for Microbiology
-
[open-access] This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ and https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode), which grants the public the nonexclusive right to copy, distribute, or display the published work.
-
†Supplemental materials available at http://asmscience.org/jmbe
- Corresponding Author. Mailing Address: Department of Biology and Earth Science, Otterbein University, 1 South Grove Street, Westerville, OH 43081. Phone: 614-823-1857. Fax: 614-823-3042. E-mail: [email protected].
Figures

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FIGURE 1
Student answers to “yes/no” virtual reality (VR) survey questions. A) Percentage of students who responded “yes” versus “no” when asked whether VR enhanced their learning experience in the cell biology course. B) Response to survey question asking students whether the combination of VR and a timed cell sorting activity improved their understanding of cellular processes.

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FIGURE 2
Likert scale responses to virtual reality (VR) survey questions. A) Answers to whether students would recommend the VR classroom/lab activity to others. B) Likert responses for whether students would recommend innovative learning tools like VR in their other classes.