Virtual reality to improve group work skill and self-directed learning in problem-based learning narratives

Abstract

Problem-based learning (PBL) is a type of student-centred educational approach where students learn a topic via their experience in solving open-ended problems. In PBL, elements of active, interactive, and collaborative learning are incorporated to allow teachers to observe their students’ learning process. The contexts of problems in PBL are in the form of cases and narratives of the real world where there are no right or wrong answers. Virtual reality (VR) is a part of mixed reality where a real-world environment is made to be virtual online. In VR, real-world elements are rendered as 3D objects. By adopting VR technologies in PBL, this will enable teachers to form virtual world narratives and cases akin to problems in a real world. VR allows elements of active, interactive, and collaborative to be integrated in students’ learning process. This study explores how VR may be adopted to enable PBL and improve group work skill as well as self-directed learning. The gained research results indicated that PBL with the presentation problem scenario in VR environment is effective in enhancing the group work skills and self-directed learning among students.