The Efficacy of Virtual Reality in Climate Change Education Increases with Amount of Body Movement and Message Specificity

Abstract

Climate change impacts are felt globally, and the impacts are increasing in severity and intensity. Developing new interventions to encourage behaviors that address climate change is crucial. This pre-registered field study investigated how the design of a virtual reality (VR) experience about ocean acidification could impact participants’ learning, behavior, and perceptions about climate change through the manipulation of the experience message framing, the sex of voice-over and the pace of the experience, and the amount of participants’ body movement. The study was run in 17 locations such as museums, aquariums, and arcades in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., and Denmark. The amount of body movement was a causal mechanism, eliciting higher feelings of self-efficacy while hindering learning. Moreover, linking the VR narrative about ocean acidification linguistically to climate change impaired learning compared to a message framing that did not make the connection. As participants learned more about the experience, they perceived the risks associated with ocean acidification as higher, and they were more likely to engage in pro-climate behavior. The results shed light on the mechanisms behind how VR can teach about ocean acidification and influence climate change behavior.

Problem-Based Learning in Remote Learning Scenario Utilizing Climate Change Virtual Reality Video in Mobile Application to Train Critical Thinking

“…This combination provides a unique and immersive learning experience, fostering students' CT skills. Climate change VR videos offer a realistic and interactive environment, allowing students to experience the consequences of climate change firsthand, as the experience of previous studies (Queiroz et al, 2023). This immersive experience triggers students' curiosity and prompts them to identify problems and potential solutions (Thoma et al, 2023).…”

Towards Enhanced Understanding and Experience of Landforms, Geohazards, and Geoheritage through Virtual Reality Technologies in Education: Lessons from the GeoVT Project

“…The positive response from participants highlighted the potential of VR simulations as tools to bridge the gap between scientific understanding, public engagement, and informed decision-making in the frame of sustainable development under conditions of a changing climate. In this regard, some pivotal studies suggested that utilizing immersive VR simulating long-term hazardous processes (e.g., sea level rise) that are often overlooked by the general public could provide an alternative approach to increase public awareness concerning the impacts of climate change [85][86][87].…”

Environmental Education: A Systematic Review on the Use of Digital Tools for Fostering Sustainability Awareness

“…The descriptive statistics of our systematic review show that VR technology is mostly used in the field of environmental education. Queiroz et al [46] underlined the potential of VR in fostering knowledge gains and self-efficacy in learning. Indeed, Immersive environments such as VR and metaverses are now broadly used in the field of education and training [32].…”

“…Interactive multimedia becomes the right strategy to deliver information in an effort to build awareness against animal exploitation in environmental conservation education for children's. [46] Virtual reality Students learning and climate change behavior.…”