An Exploratory Study on the Impact of Collective Immersion on Learning and Learning Experience

Maÿlis Merveilleux Du Vignaux,Mylène Pardoen,Sylvain Sénécal,Youness Salame,Patrick Charland,Emmanuel Durand,Nicolas Bouillot,Pierre-Majorique Léger

doi:10.3390/mti5040017

Abstract

This paper aims to explore the impact of a collective immersion on learners’ engagement and performance. Building on Bandura’s social learning theory and the theory on the sense of presence, we hypothesise that collective immersion has a positive impact on performance as well as cognitive, emotional and behavioural engagement. Ninety-three participants distributed in four conditions took part in the experiment. The four conditions manipulated the collective and individual dimensions of the learning environment as well as the high and low immersion of the learning material. The two conditions that offered a high immersion setting used two types of the novel immersive dome: a large one for collective immersion and a small one for individual use. All participants were presented with the same stimuli, an 8-min-long video of a virtual neighbourhood visit in Paris in the 18th century. The participants’ reactions were measured during and after the task. The learning outcome, as well as the cognitive, emotional and behavioural engagement, were measured. Final results showed that collective immersion learning outcomes are not significantly different, but we find that collective immersion impacts the cognitive, emotional and behavioural engagement of learners.

Highlights

Over the past few years, immersive technologies such as augmented reality and virtual reality have become more affordable and accessible on a large scale [1]
In the highly immersive condition (Condition 1), the interview revealed that 7 participants out of 12 reported having no problem concentrating on the stimuli
This study contributes to the literature by exploring the pedagogical impact of a new immersive technology on the learner’s engagement and performance

Summary

Introduction

Over the past few years, immersive technologies such as augmented reality and virtual reality have become more affordable and accessible on a large scale [1]. With the commercialisation of portable virtual reality headsets, immersion is becoming increasingly accessible in many domains, such as education and training [2]. Meta-analysis reveals that virtual reality can be an effective learning environment for teaching in K-12 and higher education [3,4,5,6]. There is limited research on a more recent phenomenon: the educational use of a collective immersion environment. An immersive dome can entertain hundreds of spectators and provide them with an immersive experience in a 360◦ virtual environment. Immersive domes are more and more popular as more immersive domes are conceived and built throughout the world [7]

Methods

Results

Conclusion