Practicing drum on VR to promote rhythm performance: Exploring the learning progress related to incremental belief of rhythm, gameplay anxiety, flow experience, and perceived learning value

Abstract

Virtual technology in teaching can enrich the content and bring more possibilities. The present study used a virtual reality system named “Jazz-Drum-VR” which embedded a function to analyze learners' performance of simulating jazz drumming. The system enabled learners to know their mistakes and correct them based on its spontaneous feedback to promote the effectiveness of their rhythm learning. To understand whether this game could effectively enhance students' rhythm performance, this study adopted the cognitive-affective theory of multimedia to explore the relationship between students' gameplay anxiety, flow experience, and learning effectiveness when playing “Jazz-Drum-VR.” Using purposive sampling, students in a high school were invited to take part in a quasi-experimental single-group time serial study involving five sessions over a period of 4 weeks. A total of 67 useful data were collected after Jazz-Drum-VR practices, and confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling analysis were performed. Results revealed that rhythm incremental beliefs can negatively predict gameplay anxiety and positively predict flow experience; flow experience can positively predict perceived learning value and learning effectiveness; and perceived learning value can positively predict learning progress. The results implied that practicing Jazz-Drum-VR could significantly promote rhythm accuracy.