A teaching package has been developed centered around a relativistic virtual reality. It introduces concepts of special relativity to students in a gamelike environment where users experience the effects of traveling at near light speeds. From this perspective, space and time are significantly different from that experienced in everyday life. We explore how students worked with this environment and how they used this experience in their study of special relativity. Students found the simulation to be a positive learning experience and described the subject area as being less abstract after its use. Students were more capable of correctly answering concept questions relating to special relativity, and a small but measurable improvement was observed in the final exam.
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August 2010
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August 01 2010
Student experiences of virtual reality: A case study in learning special relativity
Dominic McGrath;
Dominic McGrath
Teaching and Educational Development Institute,
The University of Queensland
, St. Lucia, Qld 4072, Australia
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Margaret Wegener;
Margaret Wegener
School of Mathematics and Physics, Faculty of Science,
The University of Queensland
, St. Lucia, Qld 4072, Australia
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Timothy J. McIntyre;
Timothy J. McIntyre
School of Mathematics and Physics, Faculty of Science,
The University of Queensland
, St. Lucia, Qld 4072, Australia
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Craig Savage;
Craig Savage
Physics Education Centre,
The Australian National University
, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 0200, Australia
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Michael Williamson
Michael Williamson
Physics Education Centre,
The Australian National University
, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 0200, Australia
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Am. J. Phys. 78, 862–868 (2010)
Article history
Received:
October 28 2009
Accepted:
April 29 2010
Citation
Dominic McGrath, Margaret Wegener, Timothy J. McIntyre, Craig Savage, Michael Williamson; Student experiences of virtual reality: A case study in learning special relativity. Am. J. Phys. 1 August 2010; 78 (8): 862–868. https://doi.org/10.1119/1.3431565
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