[U-15] Geoscience Research/Education Across Language And Cultural Boundaries 1: Scientist Experiences

[U15-P03] Immersive Virtual Reality lecture for Geoscience Education: Usability and Motivational Impact on International Middle School Students

★Invited Papers

*Azim Zulhilmi¹, Yuichi S. Hayakawa², Daniel R Newman² (1.Graduate School of Environmental Science, Hokkaido University, Japan, 2.Faculty of Environmental Earth Science, Hokkaido University, Japan)

Keywords:Immersive Virtual Reality, Geoscience, Education, Lecture, Middle School

Immersive Virtual Reality (VR) offers a powerful tool to transcend the barriers of cross-cultural communication in geoscience. Geoscience outreach initiatives are largely constrained by socioeconomic, logistical, and political challenges, which poses an obstacle that often restrict the ability to explore and showcase geological concepts beyond the immediate region. As a fundamentally observational science in the three-dimensional space, geoscience relies heavily on effective communication to engage the public and convey its concepts. Here we present a case study demonstrating the use of VR to deliver an interactive lecture to international middle school students. The results indicate that the VR experience, including verbal and non-verbal communications, significantly increased student motivation and interest in geoscience regardless of the students’ cultural and language backgrounds. Compared to traditional teaching methods, VR provided students with a greater sense of autonomy and enjoyment, fostering a more dynamic learning environment. These findings highlight VR's potential as a transformative tool for geoscience education, helping bridge the global communication gap over different languages and cultures which has been challenging the field. By integrating VR into geoscience education, future generations could gain broader, more globalized knowledge of the discipline. We recommend future studies to explore strategies to further enhance the motivational impact of VR, paving the way for the next evolution in geoscience communication.