Skip to Main Content
 

Global Search Box

 
 
 

ETD Abstract Container

Abstract Header

Video Games as Deweyan Worlds: A Desktop/Mobile VR Game-based Intervention to Improve Visuospatial Self-efficacy in Middle School Students

Kuznetcova, Irina
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6843-1905
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1588244345618764

Abstract Details

2020, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Educational Studies.
Visuospatial (VS) skills, or one’s ability to mentally manipulate information about objects’ positions, relations, orientation, and transformations in space, are one of the cornerstones of STEM enrollment, retention, and achievement. Low level of visuospatial skills may deter some people from joining the STEM workforce or complicate their learning experience. In addition, gender disparities in VS performance contribute to an overall gender gap that has been an ongoing issue for many STEM disciplines. There is evidence to suggest VS skills are malleable and can be improved through training. As of 2020, however, very few comprehensive and readily available training programs exist, particularly for younger age groups and explicitly grounded in pedagogical frameworks. The current study proposes a new direction of VS training focusing on the development of visuospatial self-efficacy, or one’s confidence that they can complete specific VS tasks. The proposed intervention is built on the intersection of three disciplines: educational psychology, educational philosophy, and game design. Video games are explored as a promising medium for the implementation of educational principles proposed by John Dewey whose philosophy along with the theory of self-efficacy (developed by Albert Bandura) informed the development of an intervention game. The collaborative, desktop/mobile Virtual Reality game called Bond (available for download at learnspatially.com) was designed to improve visuospatial self-efficacy in middle school students. A total of 169 students across 11 classrooms in 3 middle schools in a mid-western city in the United States participated in the study. The intervention took place in an elective STEM class. The participants in the experimental condition (n=96, 6 classrooms) played the intervention game during 4 sessions over the course of 2 weeks, while the participants in the control condition (n=73, 5 classrooms) engaged in typical class activities. Collected data included participants’ VS self-efficacy and performance right before and right after the intervention, grades in STEM courses at the start and the end of the school semester, and demographic information. The results revealed that the intervention significantly increased students’ VS self-efficacy but not their VS performance or grades in STEM courses. The implications and significance of the findings are discussed along with practical guidelines for designing serious games in education.
Michael Glassman, Dr. (Committee Chair)
Tzu-Jung Lin, Dr. (Committee Member)
Bryan Warnick, Dr. (Committee Member)
Jason Slot, Dr. (Other)
174 p.
Educational Psychology; Educational Technology
serious games; virtual reality; dewey; spatial ability; visuospatial thinking; self-efficacy; STEM education

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Kuznetcova, I. (2020). Video Games as Deweyan Worlds: A Desktop/Mobile VR Game-based Intervention to Improve Visuospatial Self-efficacy in Middle School Students [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1588244345618764

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Kuznetcova, Irina. Video Games as Deweyan Worlds: A Desktop/Mobile VR Game-based Intervention to Improve Visuospatial Self-efficacy in Middle School Students. 2020. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1588244345618764.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Kuznetcova, Irina. "Video Games as Deweyan Worlds: A Desktop/Mobile VR Game-based Intervention to Improve Visuospatial Self-efficacy in Middle School Students." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2020. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1588244345618764

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1588244345618764
394
© 2020, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.