Novel Behaviors and Attitudes of Youth in a Virtual Reality Chemistry Lab (WIP)

NOTE: This project is under consideration for the IEEE 2023 conference. As such, only the abstract will be here for now. 

Virtual reality’s (VR) unique affordances of enabling risk-free and exploratory behaviors [1] pose an unknown variable in its use as a learning environment for science education. In science laboratory simulations, do students follow typical safety and behavior norms or do they engage largely in behaviors that are considered “non-lesson related” [2]? In addition, VR is touted as a way to increase student interest and motivation in subjects but how exactly does this happen in these environments? We observed seventy-six 11-18 yr-olds (n=76) conduct a chemistry experiment in a VR lab simulation. 97% of the participants were African-American or Latino students from an urban city. Observations focused on lab safety behaviors and behaviors typically not exhibited in real-life situations (novel). Results showed that >75% of students still follow basic safety rules but only 49% conducted cleaning behaviors in VR. Novel behaviors were observed in 51% of the participants, each demonstrating a different mix of behaviors. Behaviors most observed were moving around the room with no obvious intent, throwing objects or breaking glassware, and playing with lab equipment. The existence of these behaviors is viewed as students expressing their curiosities, an important step in encouraging STEM pursuits [3]. Positive correlations were found between a participant’s amount of experience with VR and the novel behaviors “playing with Bunsen burner” and “Fire Extinguisher”. Self-reports of how much participants learned were at a mean of M = 7.61 (SD=2.13) out of 10. Semi-structured debrief interviews showed overwhelmingly positive learning experiences and low rates of discomfort.

Keywords—virtual reality, immersive learning environments, science education, student behaviors