虛擬實境融入環境教育對國小高年級學生學習感受與學習成效之影響

The Effects of Virtual Reality Integration in Environmental Education on the Learning Experience and Effectiveness of Senior Elementary School Students

在傳統環境教育中，受限於教學資源與場域條件，學生常難以深入理解生態系統與食物鏈等抽象概念。本研究開發一套以屏東南仁山自然生態為背景之虛擬實境教材「森林之鏈」，並應用於國小高年級環境教育課程，探討其對學生學習成效、自我效能與認知負荷的影響。研究對象為高雄市兩所國小五年級學生共53人，進行為期四堂課之教學，並採前實驗設計前後測事後分組及質性回饋分析方式進行評估。
研究結果顯示，學生在後測的學習成效表現普遍優於前測，顯示教材有助於學生理解抽象的生態概念。高學習成就學生在學習成果上表現較佳，呈現明顯的趨勢差異，顯示教材對不同學習表現學生具有支持潛力。心理層面中，高學習成就組學生認知負荷顯著較低，反映沉浸式任務設計有助於資訊組織與概念建構；雖自我效能未達顯著差異，學生整體回饋仍展現正向學習態度。質性資料亦支持此結果，多數學生指出遊戲化任務增強其參與與動機，尤其對低學習成就學生而言，教材的互動設計激發了學習興趣與嘗試意願。綜合而言，本研究結果顯示虛擬實境教材在促進國小學生環境教育學習成效與學習參與方面具潛在價值，並提供未來環境教育課程設計及VR技術應用之參考依據。

The virtual reality (VR) game was designed based on the ecological environment of Nanren Mountain, Taiwan, and guided students to understand ecosystems and species relationships through immersive tasks such as photo collection and food chain construction. A pre-experimental design was adopted, involving 53 fifth-grade students from two elementary schools in Kaohsiung City. A four-session instructional program was implemented and evaluated through pre- and post-tests, post-grouping, and qualitative feedback analysis.
The results showed a significant improvement in students' post-test effectiveness, indicating that the VR material effectively enhanced their understanding of ecological concepts. With regard to cognitive load, high-achieving students demonstrated lower perceived mental effort than their lower-achieving peers. Although no significant differences were found in self-efficacy, qualitative data revealed increased engagement and motivation among all learners. Overall, the VR-based material demonstrated potential for improving environmental learning and participation.
In summary, this study presented the potential value of VR teaching materials in enhancing elementary school students’learning effectiveness and engagement in environmental education, and provided important insights for the future design of environmental education curricula and the application of VR technology.