Document Type : Original Research Paper
Authors
Department of Educational Sciences, Faculty of Human Sciences, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Students' negative attitude toward teaching and learning, especially in elementary school, is a fundamental problem for parents and teachers, affecting the future of the individuals and society. One of the reasons for this attitude is the use of conventional methods. These types of classes hinder students' dynamism and make them tired and unmotivated. But today, technology can be used to enrich our classrooms. Virtual reality is a technology that has helped to change students' attitudes and made classroom environments more dynamic. In fact, it can be defined as the simulation of a situation, and the attitude consists of a person's beliefs, feelings, and behavior. In the early period, the first attitudes are achieved in a person, and this attitude plays an important role in the motivation and behavior of a person. On the other hand, technologies play an essential role in human life today, and it is necessary to use them in different areas of life with correct and purposeful planning. One of these critical fields is education. Regarding education and training, the choice of media is a fundamental issue. The selection of media should be made according to factors such as the characteristics of the learner in order to be effective. If the media are not selected and designed correctly, they will cause financial losses and waste of time. So how to design the media, which is the virtual reality here, is very important in influencing the attitude. On the other hand, according to Howland's message learning theory, the three factors of source, message, and audience characteristics are among the factors that should be taken into account to change the attitude. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to review the studies conducted in the field of using virtual reality in terms of attitude in the elementary course was in line with the answers to these questions: a) What factors play a role in choosing virtual reality technology for use in elementary classes in terms of students' attitudes? b) How is the design of virtual reality content to improve the attitude of elementary school students? And c) How are the educational activities in the classes based on virtual reality to improve the attitude of elementary school students?
Methods: The study was conducted in a systematic review from August to November 2022. The search was carried out in the Wiley, Scopus, Springer link, and Web of Science databases with the keywords Virtual reality, Attitude, and Primary students, along with the relevant word groups. The criteria for the entry and acceptance of the research included these items: related to virtual reality and the use of this technology in teaching and learning, in relation to primary school students, in relation to attitude, research in English or Farsi, and field articles. Finally, according to the inclusion criteria, the data from 12 cases were extracted, described, analyzed, and inferred from 233 studies.
Findings: According to the research questions, data were extracted, such as research countries, subjects, educational level, explanations of virtual reality, and activities from the cases (articles) that have been chosen for analysis. After analyzing and combining their findings, more studies have been taken in countries like Taiwan, China, and Korea and in fifth and sixth grades. Subjects have worked on science, social studies, English language, and physical education. In fact, according to these findings, the use of virtual reality in the fifth and sixth grades of elementary school and subjects such as sciences had the most significant impact on the students' attitudes. Also, after combining and putting together the data related to virtual reality content and features such as sense of presence, content, repetition, practice, problem-solving, animation mode, use of real images, and educational factor. These findings show that these elements in virtual reality may play a role in students' attitudes. The activities performed in the classes included viewing the content, examining and exploring the content, doing homework, working in groups, listening to the teacher's instructions, and questioning and answering. These characteristics and elements were gathered from putting together the information of previous research, but only mean the existence of all these factors in some of the studies.
Conclusion: From the explanation and conclusion of the findings, it can be said that: 1) an important criterion in the use, selection, and application of technologies, including virtual reality, is to pay attention to the characteristics of learners, including their age and 2) the characteristics of the subject that must be paid attention to. When the learner is in the abstract stage, this technology can improve learning and attitude. In fact, from their findings and analysis, it was concluded that age is an important factor in paying attention to attitude, and the use of virtual reality when the learners are in the abstract stage is effective. Also, the use of virtual reality in subjects such as sciences, which has features such as spatial and temporal limitations and abstract content, can be effective. Designers of virtual reality content should design it in such a way that is possible to check and explore the content, interact, repeat the content, and practice and solve the problem. Based on the finding related to inferences of classroom activities, it can be concluded that teachers must group students before viewing virtual reality and add additional explanations after viewing it. In fact, the group is an essential factor that affects learners' attitudes. Also, they must provide tasks and assignments per the objectives and content and allow them to ask questions and answers. Finally, according to these factors, virtual reality technology can be used to create, change or improve the attitude of elementary school students.
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©2023 The author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, as long as the original authors and source are cited. No permission is required from the authors or the publishers.
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