360° virtual reality video vignettes in science education for teacher training with a focus on students’ conceptions and gender aspects.
While video analysis is well-established in teacher education, its limitations in terms of perspective, controllability and sense of presence have only recently led to the use of 360° virtual reality (VR) videos, and so far hardly for subject-specific education. The project explores the potential of 360° VR video technology for science teacher education. To this end, a prototype of a 360° VR video vignette is designed to promote and/or assess the professional vision of pre-service science teachers using the examples of students’ conceptions and gender aspects in a lesson on the topic of electrical circuits. In a pilot study, the tool’s effectiveness is investigated with 30 pre-service teachers. The results on their perception of the 360° VR video training experience, including immersion and interaction, and on their professional vision will form the starting point for a multi-year project to be developed within the BeLEARN network.
The research project will start in January 2025. The results or the current state of research will be regularly communicated to the BeLEARN team.
The prototype will be available immedialy after the project for use in teacher education. It will be used in the two participating universities of teacher education. Scalability to other univerversites of teacher education can easily be achieved via their strong networks and various disseminaton activities. In addition, translation activities are planned in collaboration with an educational outreach center (Centralschweizer Kraftwerke) and the Swiss Museum of Transport.
