Research And Evaluation

10k Science has shown strong engagement signals and evidence of promise for science learning in pilot and survey materials.

Student Pilot

10k Science materials describe a pilot involving 137 students from Oakland School for the Arts. Students were randomly assigned to use a 10k Science VR experience or watch a video with the same content.

Reported student feedback includes:

• 22 out of 28 interviewed or surveyed students said the 10k Science VR experience was better than reading or video.
• Students cited interactivity, engagement, visualization, spatial information, memorability, motivation, and immersion.
• 47% of students in the VR condition said the experience changed how they think about science in their life at least somewhat, compared with 25% in the video condition.
• Students in the VR condition described more ideas in more detail overall than students in the video condition.
• More than three times as many students wrote a positive response in the VR condition than in the video condition.

Launch materials also report:

• +15% content knowledge gains in Dynamoid pilot studies with high school students
• 78% student engagement
• An independent Stevens Institute of Technology pilot in which over 92% of undergraduates said the experience enhanced their learning

Educator Survey

In July 2023, Dynamoid surveyed more than 60 science educators, primarily biology teachers, across different grade levels and higher education institutions.

The survey identified major educator challenges:

• Limited teacher time
• Student engagement and distraction
• Funding constraints
• Providing individual feedback
• Encouraging intrinsic student motivation

The report also identified hard-to-teach topics and themes:

• Abstract or non-visible concepts
• Molecular biology and genetics
• Chemistry
• Math-related topics
• Scientific thinking and problem solving
• Physics
• Scientific terminology
• Connecting concepts and seeing the big picture

The report found that 74% of surveyed educators identified budget constraints as a major barrier to using VR in the classroom. Other barriers included finding appropriate materials, integration with existing systems, technical learning curves, troubleshooting, limited teacher time, and administrative approval.

Evidence Summary

Students have reported that VR helped them visualize, remember, and connect scientific ideas. Dynamoid continues to evaluate learning outcomes in authentic educational settings.