Fearless Learning with AR & VR

Making a mistake is a something that most people try to avoid. But sometimes the best learning comes from making a mistake.

In her article, “Why Mistakes Matter in Creating A Path For Learning,” Claudia Wallis of The Hechinger Report writes that “contrary to what many of us might guess, making a mistake with high confidence and then being corrected is one of the most powerful ways to absorb something and retain it.”

Up until recently, most American classrooms taught students to steer clear of errors and instead strive for the right answers. Wallis writes that this attitude is starting to change after a number of new studies by cognitive psychologists “showed clear benefits to engaging with mistakes—in both verbal and math tasks.” This can be applied to STEM, CTE, and higher education.

New technology, like Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR), is helping students to learn that mistakes are part of the learning process. By providing environments where actions are reversible with the click of an undo button, students are taught to worry less about getting things right the first time. They are instead becoming fearless learners who are not afraid of getting a wrong answer. AR/VR gets students to achieve things that would otherwise impossible in traditional classrooms, in addition to encouraging them to learn from mistakes.

Valparaiso High School Teacher Heidi Bernardi says that using Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality has been great for teaching students that mistakes are ok. “Students find that it’s ok to make a mistake. There isn’t a big consequence that can’t be undone,” she says.

Hear what else Bernardi has to say about mistakes and student learning with AR and VR in this video short:

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Want to learn more about student learning with augmented and virtual reality? Read this free education brief on student engagement.