Abstract
Interactive virtual human (IVH) simulations offer a novel method for training skills involving person-to-person interactions. This article examines the effectiveness of an IVH simulation for teaching medical students to assess rare cranial nerve abnormalities in both individual and small-group learning contexts. Individual (n = 26) and small-group (n = 30) interaction with the IVH system was manipulated to examine the influence on learning, learner engagement, perceived cognitive demands of the learning task, and instructional efficiency. Results suggested the IVH activity was an equally effective and engaging instructional tool in both learning structures, despite learners in the group learning contexts having to share hands-on access to the simulation interface. Participants in both conditions demonstrated a significant increase in declarative knowledge post-training. Operation of the IVH simulation technology imposed moderate cognitive demand but did not exceed the demands of the task content or appear to impede learning.
Highlights
With recent advances in technology and virtual reality, interactive virtual humans (IVHs) are poised to revolutionize the training of skills involving person-to-person interactions
To extend our understanding of IVHs for learning, we explore the cognitive demands of operating an IVH system within the context of a complex problem-solving task and determine if medical students are able to effectively learn targeted medical content by using IVHs to practice patient interviewing and diagnosis
The present study The research presented in this paper investigates the effectiveness of an IVH-based training system in higher education
Summary
With recent advances in technology and virtual reality, interactive virtual humans (IVHs) are poised to revolutionize the training of skills involving person-to-person interactions. To extend our understanding of IVHs for learning, we explore the cognitive demands of operating an IVH system within the context of a complex problem-solving task and determine if medical students are able to effectively learn targeted medical content by using IVHs to practice patient interviewing and diagnosis. How to cite this article Lyons et al (2014), The impact of social context on learning and cognitive demands for interactive virtual human simulations. Answering these questions has important practical implications for the future development and implementation of IVH in both academic and organizational learning contexts
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