Per Bergamin’s research while affiliated with North-West University and other places

This research reports on science pre-service teachers' (PSTs) perceptions and attitudes towards a virtual reality classroom, with the rationale being to elaborate on the pedagogical affordances of technology in the micro-teaching practices of PSTs. A purposeful sample of eighty-three pre-service science teachers from a major South African university participated in the research. Data were collected following an embedded mixed methods design, with the main data collected quantitively through questionnaires supported by informal classroom conversations after the VR classroom experience. To comprehend pre-service teachers' views on technology, the study combined the UTAUT and TAM models. Data were analysed using descriptive, comparative, correlational, and content analysis methods. Results indicate that the PSTs hold a positive perception towards the use of VR classrooms for their micro-teaching and in their future science teaching. The positive perceptions of PSTs towards the VR classroom were associated with its potential to enhance task efficiency, improve teaching productivity, belief in its utility for science teaching roles, facilitate the acquisition of pertinent knowledge and skills essential for science teaching, and to provide clear and understandable interactions within the classroom. The correlation analyses identified significant associations between pre-service teachers' perceptions and their attitudes regarding using VR classrooms for their micro-teaching practices. However, there was no significant difference in pre-service teachers' perceptions and attitudes towards the use of VR classrooms for micro-teaching practice with respect to gender. Notably, their attitudes were more closely associated with their perceived performance goals of using the VR classroom. Nevertheless, pre-service teachers raised concerns about the practical applicability of the VR classroom in teaching and teacher education programs, as well as issues related to accessibility and availability of the VR device and application for pre-service teachers when outside the university. Implications for teacher education and future research are discussed.

Unlike traditional large-scale assessments, computer-based assessments collect process data that provide information about test-takers actions in the assessment platform while solving test items, for example, response and reaction times, number of clicks, and skipping. In computer-based assessments in multilingual contexts, the comparability of test scores across different assessment languages is essential and challenges assessment design principles regarding fairness. To achieve comparability, test items must be independent of language specificities, test-takers should be homogeneous in their ability to solve the test items, and the test setting must be standardized across test-takers. Using process data in assessments is often limited to identifying cognitive response mechanisms. On the other hand, little is known about how process data can contribute to multilingual assessments’ test development and administration process, hence, quality assurance. Based on the existing literature, we conceptualize a framework with five aspects of how process data can be used for assessment quality improvement. In addition, we set these aspects in the context of computer-based assessments in multilingual contexts. We illustrate three ways in which process data can contribute to the quality assurance of standardized educational computer-based assessments: (a) assisting in identifying suspicious items or blocks across different languages, (b) investigating potential issues of position effects and how they might affect different languages, and (c) clustering test-takers to understand their evolving behavior. This strand of research aims to better understand how process data in computer-based assessments can contribute to quality assurance and inform assessment developers, practitioners, and researchers in large-scale assessments.

Objective The training of dietitians emphasizes the development of strong communication skills. Immersive virtual reality (IVR) has been successfully employed for various healthcare scenarios; however, it is yet understudied in dietetics education. Therefore, we conducted a feasibility study to investigate the usefulness of IVR for the purpose of communication skills training. Methods We designed a multi-user virtual hospital environment that enabled the training of professional conversations between dietitians and patients. Divided into groups of three, 30 dietetics students participated in a role-play task. Taking a qualitative approach to inquiry, we evaluated how participants assessed the benefits and limitations of the IVR training. Results Participants appreciated the authenticity of the training environment and mentioned various advantages of IVR (e.g., sense of privacy, better focus on conversation) over traditional modes of instruction. On the other side, participants frequently mentioned that the lack of avatars' facial expressions might present an obstacle for effective communication skills training. Conclusion IVR enables authentic communication skills trainings for dietitians. Special consideration should be given to providing ample social cues during training. Innovation The study demonstrates that the promising results from other healthcare professions regarding the usefulness of IVR training also apply to dietetics.

This study investigated how pre-service teachers perceive and plan to use a virtual reality classroom for science teaching during microteaching practices. The UTAUT 2 model was adopted as the conceptual framework for this study. Data were collected through an online survey from eighty-three pre-service science teachers from a large metropolitan university in Gauteng Province, South Africa. The collected data were analysed using descriptive and regression analysis. The results revealed that pre-service teachers demonstrated a high level of acceptance and intention to use Virtual reality classrooms in their microteaching practice and future classroom teaching. Thus, implying that they were receptive to the idea of using virtual reality classrooms in their microteaching practice and future classroom practice. Results further indicate that the preservice teachers are fascinated by the utilization of virtual reality classrooms for their microteaching practice based on two significant factors: social influence and technology self-assurance. However, results show that age and gender do not moderate the influence of performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, facilitating condition, hedonic motivation, self-efficacy, anxiety and attitude on preservice teachers’ behavioural intention to accept and the virtual reality classroom for their microteaching practice and future classroom teaching. The implications of these findings for science teaching and learning are discussed as it delves into the motivations and considerations of pre-service teachers when incorporating virtual reality classrooms into their teaching practices for science education.

Although immersive virtual reality (IVR) technology is becoming increasingly accessible, head-mounted displays with eye tracking capability are more costly and therefore rarely used in educational settings outside of research. This is unfortunate, since combining IVR with eye tracking can reveal crucial information about the learners' behavior and cognitive processes. To overcome this issue, we investigated whether the positional tracking of learners during a short teaching exercise in IVR (i.e., microteaching) may predict the actual fixation on a given set of classroom objects. We analyzed the positional data of pre-service teachers from 23 microlessons by means of a random forest and compared it to two baseline models. The algorithm was able to predict the correct eye fixation with an F1-score of .8637, an improvement of .5770 over inferring eye fixations based on the forward direction of the IVR headset (head gaze). The head gaze itself was a .1754 improvement compared to predicting the most frequent class (i.e., Floor). Our results indicate that the positional tracking data can successfully approximate eye gaze in an IVR teaching scenario, making it a promising candidate for investigating the pre-service teachers' ability to direct students' and their own attentional focus during a lesson.