Students’ perspectives on 3D-vision

Abstract

The perception of our surroundings is determined by vision to a large extent. Human vision is not only able to generate a three-dimensional impression of three-dimensional objects, but also of two-dimensional objects. Nowadays, 3D-technologies even provide additional opportunities to trigger visual 3D-perception. 3D-vision provides a context for teaching and learning several topics in physics. In order to develop a learning environment for high school students, following the framework of educational reconstruction, students’ perspectives must be considered. As we could not find any documented students’ conceptions on 3D-vision, an exploratory study was conducted. Main aim of this study was to provide a broad overview on students’ perspectives on 3D-vision. Therefore, the questionnaire mainly consisted of open questions. The questionnaire was administered to Austrian secondary level students of two schools and was finally filled in completely by 215 students. Data was analysed by the means of qualitative content analysis and an inductive category system was developed. The results show that students mainly connect 3D-vision with 3D-technologies in cinemas. However, differences between junior and senior high school students were detected. While junior high school students mainly associate 3D-vision with cinemas, senior high school students additionally mention the physiological process of 3D-vision as well as 3D-technology.