Influence of Virtual Reality and Gamification Combined with Practice Teaching Style in Physical Education on Motor Skills and Students’ Perceived Effort: A Mixed-Method Intervention Study

The spectrum of teaching styles, created by Muska Mosston in 1966, is internationally considered the pedagogical basis in the field of physical education (PE) [1]. The spectrum provides PE teachers with 11 different teaching options, ranging from the most teacher-centred (command style) to the most student-centred (self-teaching style), addressing student diversity and achieving multiple PE objectives (psychomotor, cognitive and affective) of the curriculum [2]. In this regard, the practice teaching style (PTS), in which teachers demonstrate the task and learners practice the task, making decisions previously shifted to them (location, posture, starting time, etc.) [1], despite being traditional, is a commonly used option in PE within the spectrum. This is also because decision-making gradually shifts from the teacher to the student, thereby promoting students’ autonomy [3]. This progressive increase in learners’ decision making may contribute to education for sustainable development in terms of empowering students to take informed decisions and responsible actions, thus complying with Number 4 of the sustainable development goals. Thereby, the United Nations dedicate a specific section (4.7) to the requirement for learners to acquire knowledge and skills to promote sustainable development for environmental, economic and social integrity for present and future generations [4]. Hence, teaching styles that predominantly rely on the teacher are being replaced with more active methodologies and student-centred options that encourage students’ participation and involvement [5]. These methodologies increase motivation and facilitate the teaching–learning process [6]. Delving into these most recent methodologies, gamification (GAM), specifically, has emerged and gained relevance in recent years, consisting of the use of game elements in non-game contexts [7] and is widely used in the educational field [8]. In this environment, the most crucial game elements to include in education are rewards, scoring, narrative, objectives, levels and progression [9]. Although the use of gamification has been shown to increase students’ motivation [10,11] and physical fitness [12,13], its impact on learning improvements remains unclear [14]. This is likely due to the lack of unification of criteria to compare gamification didactic proposals [15], as well as the lack of research in the educational field, particularly in PE [16].

In contrast, virtual reality (VR) and interactive video gaming (exergames) are becoming relevant in various areas of science education and are being rapidly adopted for different purposes [17]. VR is the emulation of a real or a fictional setting generated by a computer system, providing users with an immersive experience and the ability to interact with objects within that simulated environment [18,19,20]. Immersion refers to the degree of inclusion in a virtual setting that an individual feels in comparison to the actual surroundings. Systems projecting images onto a concave surface or employing head-mounted displays are typically classified as immersive systems. In contrast, those utilizing single-screen projection are categorized as semi-immersive, and those relying on desktops, joysticks or pad displays are identified as non-immersive setups [21]. The engagement with the environment can be facilitated by a range of devices, including simple tools like a mouse or joystick, as well as more sophisticated systems incorporating cameras, sensors or haptic (touch) feedback devices [22]. As a result, the extent of the user’s physical activity can vary based on the interaction, spanning from relatively sedentary to more dynamic scenarios involving vigorous full-body movements [23].

The number of published studies on the use of these technologies for educational purposes is on the rise [24]. Educational institutions are now moving rapidly to adopt VR as an educational and training tool as it can be directly applied to the teaching–learning process, generating positive learning outcomes in a variety of domains [25]. In addition, and based on the aforementioned education for sustainable development, VR contributes to the digital teaching competence that contributes to build sustainable digital citizenship and it implies the construction of digital culture (e-society). The generation of movement, simulation and interaction in virtual learning environments is possible due to specific levels of immersion, and through the execution of diverse and progressively challenging functional activities involving high levels of repetition and intensity. The process offers real-time multisensory feedback during task-oriented training, facilitating motor learning. The powerful sense of presence and effective immersion created by VR applications provide on-site training in a safe and controlled environment, boosting curiosity among students that the traditional approach could not easily achieve. In addition, for most students, school might be the only place where they can access this technology [26]. Nonetheless, careful consideration of essential educational process elements is needed to design and develop VR learning experiences. This involves incorporating effective pedagogy, mindful planning of teaching time and learning activities, using suitable tools and resources, and fostering active student engagement [27]. Likewise, it is necessary to investigate how children perceive effort, motivation, satisfaction and adherence when undergoing VR activities during PE lessons in school environments [28,29], considering some discrepancies in the literature reporting the absence [30,31] or presence [32,33] of significant learning outcomes when comparing VR with other active learning experiences or with traditional learning, respectively. In addition, there is a lack of previous studies about using VR in PE in comparison to other methodologies. Therefore, this study aimed to analyse the effect of using VR and GAM in combination with the PTS on motor skills and students’ perceived effort. From this research, some questions were raised: Can the use of techniques such as VR and GAM improve motor skills (such as coordination, grip strength or balance) in an educational context? Can these techniques reduce the perceived effort of students during lessons compared to the PTS? We hypothesised that the use of VR and GAM would decrease students’ perceived effort during PE lessons and improve their motor skills.