Experiences and perceptions of students in occupational therapy regarding the use of desktop virtual environments-based simulation: a qualitative study

Abstract

Background: Desktop virtual environments are widely used within educational contexts. Despite virtual simulation being well established in occupational therapy practice, this pedagogical strategy remains underutilized in occupational therapy education curricula. Thus, this study aimed to explore how students perceived the desktop VE-based simulation learning to better inform the usefulness of integrating virtual simulation into curricula.

Methods: A qualitative methodology was employed to explore students' experiences and perceptions of engagement in the desktop-based virtual environments learning process. An interview guide was developed through consultation with faculty members based on Kolb's experiential learning theory. The interviewees were randomly selected via computer-generated randomization from a pool of 53 invited students studying occupational therapy. Based on the principles proposed by Francis and her colleagues, data saturation was reached by the 18th interview. All interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using Braun and Clarke's thematic analysis framework.

Results: Four key themes were identified: (1) concrete experience: the success of D-VSim rests on resources; (2) reflective observation: resource-abundant D-VSim leads to the success of being complementary to conventional PowerPoint learning; (3) abstract conceptualization: the development in learning through dual visualization and manipulation creates the "visual flow"; (4) action experimentation: the D-VSim provides multi-sensory immersive opportunities for the "repeated" activity. These four key themes were illustrated in the ascending spiral with each layer representing one theme parallel to its corresponding sub-themes.

Conclusion: This study supported that structured reflection enhanced learning through the medium of virtual simulation, which promoted the desktop VE-based simulation in other areas of healthcare professional education.

Keywords: Healthcare professional education; Qualitative research; Students’ perceptions; Virtual environments; Virtual simulation.