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Frans Grosfeld uses the DialogueTrainer application to teach students in Virtual Reality how to deal with the aggressive behaviour of a virtual patient.

What prompted you to use VR in this lesson?

During the development of an aggression training course, I was approached by the CAT and asked if I would like to enrich the scenario I wanted to use by applying VR. Since immersion in the experience is so important when dealing with aggression, I was interested.

How did you design the VR lesson (structure and teaching methods)?

Students were given a VR headset and shown a scenario from the serious game DialogueTrainer in a virtual environment of a medical examination room. In this room, a life-size virtual patient appears, speaking loudly and gesturing with his arms, standing in front of the room's exit. Afterwards, the teacher discusses with the group how and to what extent students show an emotional response to the threat.

In the second part of the scenario, the students are instructed to de-escalate the situation using texts provided in the game. The teacher then discusses with the group how this could be achieved.

How did the students respond to the use of VR?

The participating medical students responded positively to this teaching method, as it allowed them to immerse themselves in the situation without being distracted by the teaching environment. Details that had been thought out in advance in the virtual space proved to have the desired effect, such as the lack of an escape route.

What personally stood out to you during the lesson?

That the low level of tension seemed to help the students respond in a thoughtful manner. The text options proved helpful in choosing the “right” answer to the situation.

What challenges or obstacles did you encounter?

We are faced with the challenge of making the virtual patient even more lifelike. Small things, such as the chosen voice and the use of text options, make him less threatening. And breaking the scenario into two parts takes the student out of the immersive experience. All these obstacles must be overcome.

What advice would you give to a fellow teacher who wants to use VR?

In order to experience a sense of threat in a VR scenario, players appear to place high demands on the realistic nature of the virtual characters and space. So this is something that really needs to be taken into account. The use of VR requires technical support and is labour-intensive in organisational terms. Therefore, don't make the structure of your lesson and the scenario unnecessarily complicated!

What added value did VR offer compared to a “normal” lesson?

The individual experience appears to be important. During VR, students sit in their own cocoon and are not disturbed by the presence of other students. Surrounded by a context-rich environment, this increases their involvement in the situation, something that is difficult to achieve in a normal lesson.