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<p>The power of embodiment in VR enables learners to physically experience concepts instead of merely visualizing them abstractly. Early evidence suggests that engaging in VR environments positively impacts visual-spatial cognition. Yet, it is challenging to determine specific effects from the VR experiences for complex STEM topics, beyond general explanations of immersion and presence. This study explores how VR simulations designed to address complex scientific concepts shape learners’ mental representations as revealed through gesture analysis of their explanations. Undergraduate biology students who participated in a facilitated VR simulation experience on gene regulation using the <i>lac</i> operon model (n = 30) were compared with another group who only engaged with course materials (n = 12). Gestures accompanying their explanations were analyzed for types and semantic meaning using the Structure, Behavior, and Function framework. While canonical gestures for basic structures and processes, as well as binary function (e.g., on/off), were common across groups, VR participants produced significantly more gestures representing peripheral structural components, dynamic behavioral processes, and nuanced functional complexities (e.g., rates). Case studies of students who created ‘air diagrams’ revealed three-dimensional spatial relations that mirrored depictions in the VR environment, indicating persistent spatialized memory traces. Analysis of student drawings was also conducted and showed VR participants included significantly more accurate structural and behavioral elements in their representations. The study contributes insights into how VR environments shape the character of mental representations for complex scientific phenomena, with implications for designing effective VR environments for science education.</p>

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From Perception to Representation of Dynamic Models in Virtual Reality Simulations: Decoding Scientific and Embodied Knowing Through Gestures

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年6月27日

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  • Michelle Lui,
  • Martha Mullally,
  • Rhonda McEwen

摘要

The power of embodiment in VR enables learners to physically experience concepts instead of merely visualizing them abstractly. Early evidence suggests that engaging in VR environments positively impacts visual-spatial cognition. Yet, it is challenging to determine specific effects from the VR experiences for complex STEM topics, beyond general explanations of immersion and presence. This study explores how VR simulations designed to address complex scientific concepts shape learners’ mental representations as revealed through gesture analysis of their explanations. Undergraduate biology students who participated in a facilitated VR simulation experience on gene regulation using the lac operon model (n = 30) were compared with another group who only engaged with course materials (n = 12). Gestures accompanying their explanations were analyzed for types and semantic meaning using the Structure, Behavior, and Function framework. While canonical gestures for basic structures and processes, as well as binary function (e.g., on/off), were common across groups, VR participants produced significantly more gestures representing peripheral structural components, dynamic behavioral processes, and nuanced functional complexities (e.g., rates). Case studies of students who created ‘air diagrams’ revealed three-dimensional spatial relations that mirrored depictions in the VR environment, indicating persistent spatialized memory traces. Analysis of student drawings was also conducted and showed VR participants included significantly more accurate structural and behavioral elements in their representations. The study contributes insights into how VR environments shape the character of mental representations for complex scientific phenomena, with implications for designing effective VR environments for science education.