Influence of Students’ Learning Style, Sense of Presence, and Cognitive Load on Learning Outcomes in an Immersive Virtual Reality Learning Environment

• Published in: Journal of educational computing research Vol. 58; no. 3; pp. 596 - 615
• Main Authors: Huang, Chiao Ling, Luo, Yi Fang, Yang, Shu Ching, Lu, Chia Mei, Chen, An-Sing
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.06.2020
• Subjects: Adolescents; Cognitive Style; Computer Interfaces; Computer Simulation; Difficulty Level; Foreign Countries; High School Students; Knowledge Level; Learning Processes; Outcomes of Education; Psychological Patterns; Student Participation; Student Satisfaction; Virtual Classrooms; Taiwan; cognitive load; immersive virtual reality; learning style; sense of presence
• ISSN: 0735-6331; 1541-4140
• DOI: 10.1177/0735633119867422

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship among Taiwanese high school students’ learning style, sense of presence, cognitive load, and affective and cognitive learning outcomes in an immersive virtual reality-based learning environment. This study used a teaching experiment intervention method. Seventy-seven students participated in the virtual reality-based learning environment and completed related scales and a test. This study found that although the students’ learning style does not influence learning outcomes, it may influence the subjective sense of presence and cognitive load in the learning process. Regarding the affective learning outcome, involvement/immersion, sensory fidelity, and mental effort are positive predictors. In addition, involvement/immersion, interface quality, mental load, and mental effort are negative predictors of cognitive learning outcomes. The conclusion from this study is that students with some learning style preferences must bear a greater cognitive load to achieve the same learning outcomes as other students. This study also points out that the components of sense of presence and cognitive load generate inconsistent predictive effects on affective and cognitive learning outcomes, respectively. Therefore, it is important to deeply explore the influence of sense of presence and cognitive load structure on learning in virtual environments.