Design, Implementation, and Pilot Evaluation of a Virtual Reality Application for Science Learning

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This paper reports a pilot study on the design, development, and preliminary classroom evaluation of a virtual reality (VR) learning system for middle school science education, conducted within the framework of a university–industry collaboration. The primary objective was to develop a head-mounted display (HMD)-based VR application for the sixth-grade “Digestive System” unit and to investigate its effects on students’ academic achievement, motivation toward science learning, and spatial ability. Developed following the Rapid Prototyping Instructional Design Model, the application incorporated interactive three-dimensional anatomical models and user-centered navigation to support students’ engagement with abstract scientific concepts. The VR system developed within the scope of this study was integrated into the 5E-based instructional process and evaluated through a quasi-experimental pilot study involving a total of 36 sixth-grade students (5E+VR, $n =18$ ; 5E Only, $n =18$ ). For science-learning motivation, after controlling for pre-test scores, a statistically significant group effect and a significant Group × Time interaction, indicating different patterns of change over time between the groups, were observed. Regarding spatial ability, although the 5E+VR group showed a greater increase in mean scores, the adjusted between-group difference was not statistically significant. For academic achievement, no statistically significant difference was observed between the groups. Overall, the findings suggest that the curriculum-aligned VR system may serve as a complementary educational technology for supporting students’ motivation toward science learning. However, further research with larger and more diverse samples, longer intervention periods, and different instructional and interaction designs is needed to further substantiate these findings.