Utilizing Virtual Reality Learning Environment for Undergraduate Math Teaching

• Published in: Ubiquitous learning 2011, Vol.3 (3), p.105-116
• Main Authors: Lian, Jian-ao, Wang, Yonghui, Yang, Yonggao
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Classrooms; Colleges & universities; Distance learning; Educational Environment; School environment; Students; Teaching; Teaching methods; Undergraduate Students; Undergraduate study; Virtual reality
• ISSN: 1835-9795; 2475-9686
• DOI: 10.18848/1835-9795/CGP/v03i03/40297

It is always a challenge to effectively teach fundamental math courses to entry level freshmen, and in fact, to high level undergraduate students as well. On one hand, some students’ high school math learning habits are not adequate for college; on the other hand, some students were mathematically under-prepared. Although there have been numerous experiments and studies during the past two decades on improving the efficiency of math teaching, we believe that the virtual reality learning environment is a better tool to engage students in a fun math-learning experience. The proposed system possesses unique power that traditional or conventional classroom teaching does not provide, including but not limited to: (1) helping students understand complex, abstract, and non-intuitive concepts and systems; (2) enhancing instruction by making the learning experience game-like, while still retaining the underlying content; and (3) enabling instructors to create a better learning environment for those students having difficulty in learning from the traditional classroom setting. This paper introduces the proposed VRMathLab system, which opens a new door for improving undergraduate math teaching methods as well as learning, and can be used in a wide range of possible ways, such as through individual laptops, labs, and servers for distance learning.