GAMIFICATION OF A VIRTUAL LAB TRAINING: EFFECTS OF PROVIDING VISUAL MOTIVATIONAL FEEDBACK

Virtual reality (VR) provides students with a platform to train in a 3D environment where their lab experiments can be replicated. By performing repetitive training, trainees can learn better in the Virtual Environment along with the benefits of the cost-effectiveness. The study focuses on two research questions: 1) Are there differences in the performance and errors committed by subjects in  gamified  vs.  non-gamified  educational  labs?  2)  Does  the  attitude  of  students  matter  in  the  gamified and non-gamified environment? This study examines the difference between gamified and non-gamified training environments' effectiveness in training performance and motivation in the VR training. During this study, the participants were provided with one of the two platforms –gamified and non-gamified and were asked to perform a micro-pipette experiment, where the users used a micropipette to transfer liquid from one container to another. The gamified environment has  the  visual  elements  for  providing  positive  feedback  to  the  users,  and  the  non-gamified environment does not have these elements. During the experiment, the participants’ performance metrics like damage caused to the pipette and time taken to complete the experiment were captured. After the experiment, the participants were asked to answer a questionnaire related to the pipette usage, and then self-report their motivation during the experiment in the VR training. Based on the collected data, it was found that while the participants did seem more motivated in doing the gamified  experiment,  there  were  no  differences  between  the  performance  in  the  gamified  experiment  and  the  non-gamified  experiment.  The  participants  were  however  more  enthusiastic  about  the  gamified  experiment  and  were  even  able  to  provide  suggestions  to  add  more  game  elements. Suggestions for further research and more information on their feedback is also provided.