Inquiry Practice Capability and Students’ Learning Effectiveness Evaluation in Strategies of Integrating Virtual Reality into Vehicle Body Electrical System Comprehensive Maintenance and Repair Services Practice: A Case Study

Abstract

VR has shown positive growth in the world in recent years, which is mainly due to projects such as learning, games, entertainment and experiential activities. VR has changed the way of life of users, providing users with more interesting interactions and immersive experiences. This study aims to investigate students’ practical capabilities and learning effectiveness under the instruction strategy of integrating virtual reality into simulation games into the Vehicle Body Electrical System Comprehensive Maintenance and Repair Services Practice curriculum for students of the Dept. of Auto Mechanics in a skills-based senior high school. Two student classes of the Dept. of Auto Mechanics major in Electrical Engineering featuring practical subjects in one skills-based senior high school in central Taiwan were chosen as the participants for this study. By way of pretest–post-test research design and heterogeneous grouping, an 8-week instruction experiment was conducted in which ZPD (zone of proximal development) instruction strategies were used in the experimental group (with 43 persons), while traditional didactic instruction strategies were used in the control group (with 36 persons). ZPD instructional strategies analyze and collect quantitative and qualitative data to investigate the instructional effectiveness and feasibility in developing ZPD as the research material in the practical curriculum for the study area of the Power Machinery in Vehicle Body Electrical System Comprehensive Maintenance and Repair Services practice. According to the research objective, the results are concluded as follows. (1) Students achieved the best learning effectiveness when adopting ZPD (zone of proximal development) strategies in which virtual reality was integrated into the vehicle charging and starting system to investigate students’ automotive diagnostic troubleshooting and fault-clearing capabilities. (2) Students attained the highest acceptance in learning phenomenon when adopting ZPD (zone of proximal development) strategies in which virtual reality was integrated into students’ familiar practice factory environment and the tools and equipment operation process. (3) Students had a higher acceptance of learning effectiveness when using virtual reality simulation games in the disassembly and functional detection of vehicle charging and starting systems. (4) There is a positive effect when integrating virtual reality simulation games into ZPD instruction strategies in the knowledge, skills and attitude on students’ overall inquiry practical capabilities and their learning effectiveness.