Immersive virtual reality (VR) has enormous potential for education, but classroom resources are limited. Thus, it is important to identify whether and when VR provides sufficient advantages over other modes of learning to justify its deployment. In a between-subjects experiment, we compared three methods of teaching Moon phases (a hands-on activity, VR, and a desktop simulation) and measured student improvement on existing learning and attitudinal measures. While a substantial majority of students preferred the VR experience, we found no significant differences in learning between conditions. However, we found differences between conditions based on gender, which was highly correlated with experience with video games. These differences may indicate certain groups have an advantage in the VR setting. are many potential explanations for these differences [14], two relate to how learners and technology interact through issues of embodiment and real-world complexities. This study aimed to test the impact of these variables by directly comparing student learning and attitudes from three different instructional technologies (a hands-on activity, desktop simulation, and virtual reality simulation), while taking advantage of their respective affordances along the dimensions of embodiment and real-world complexity. EmbodimentTheories of learning argue that cognition is inherently embodied: "the mind must be understood in the context of its relationship to a physical body that interacts with the world." [15, p.625]. Research has found that learning benefits from activities that explicitly attend to embodied cognition [16][17][18]. There are several ways in which embodiment is argued to support learning, generally tied to a hypothesis whereby activities help move cognition from abstract to concrete representations of a phenomenon [16].Two such notions of embodied cognition focus on how learners off-load cognitive work on to the environment and how off-line cognition is body-based [15,19]. These notions suggest physical aspects of cognition, whereby learning is supported through engaging perceptuo-motor systems [20]. Indeed, nearly all science education advocates for the use of interactive hands-on activities [21]. Through hands-on activities and demonstrations, learners connect abstract concepts to their physical environment. For example, researchers in physics education have developed embodied activities for teaching concepts of energy conservation [22]. In these activities, learners assign units of energy to physical objects (either cubes or people) [23], and then manipulate those objects to represent processes of energy transfer and dynamics. Through these concrete representations of an otherwise abstract phenomenon, learners develop their conceptual and mechanistic understandings of the phenomenon [22]. By manipulating physical objects, students can see deep features of the phenomena, allowing them to effectively integrate the features into their mental models of the phenomena [20,24].Two other notions of embodied cogn...

A ball on a stick is a common and simple activity for teaching the phases of the Moon. This activity, like many others in physics and astronomy, gives students a perspective they otherwise could only imagine. For Moon phases, a third person view and control over time allows students to rapidly build a mental model that connects all the moving parts. Computer simulations of many traditional physics and astronomy activities provide new features, controls, or vantage points to enhance learning beyond a hands-on activity. Virtual reality provides the capabilities of computer simulations and embodied cognition experiences through a hands-on activity making it a natural step to improve learning. We recreated the traditional ball-and-stick moon phases activity in virtual reality and compared participant learning using this simulation with using traditional methods. We found a strong participant preference for VR relative to the traditional methods. However, we observed no difference across conditions in average levels of performance on a pre/post knowledge test.

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Widespread disasters, such as hurricanes, terrorist attacks, and viral outbreaks, represent a unique class of stressors that increase the demand for mental health care but also limit access to services. During the course of COVID-19, an unprecedented global pandemic, the detrimental effects of fear, uncertainty, and social isolation have particularly strained existing structures for psychological care. Virtual reality (VR) represents a promising means to address this still-growing need. Although VR has been applied in medical settings for decades, no existing literature has synthesized the strength of empirical support for VR's acceptability, feasibility, and efficacy in the context of disaster mental health. In an attempt to fill this urgent need, the present systematic review summarizes the findings of 21 diverse studies of VR as a tool for disaster-related psychological resilience training, psychological first aid, or counseling. With an eye toward VR's potential utility to address the incredible need for services created by the COVID-19 pandemic, we offer recommendations for key future directions and methodological considerations in the context of disaster mental health.What is the significance of this article for the general public?This systematic review contributes to a wider understanding of virtual reality and other technological advancements as acceptable, widely applicable enhancements to mental health interventions for community disasters. Virtual reality has great potential to address barriers to treatment highlighted by the recent COVID-19 pandemic, including high stress levels, geographic distance from providers, and social isolation.