Cultivating Positive Classroom Environments: Exploring the Efficacy of Immersive Technologies in Removing Barriers to Learning Among Primary School Students
Ciara Molloy, Rachel Farrell
Abstract
This is a small-scale qualitative participatory research study conducted in two large primary schools in Ireland with classes for autistic students.The paper reports how a menu of immersive technology learning experiences was thoughtfully designed and employed with autistic children who were communicating through their behavior an aversion to the learning environment and many aspects of conventional learning activities.Through this study, students were enabled to explore and respond to learning through immersive learning environments.The Universal Design for Learning (UDL) infused design of these immersive learning experiences was tailored to remove barriers to learning, thus counteracting the observable disruptive behaviors of the students.The study explores a purposive sample of six participating teachers' perspectives on the affective gains (engagement, motivation, and self-efficacy) achieved through the use of these immersive experiences and their impact on students' use of disruptive behaviors as a means of communication.Semi-structured interviews with teacher participants were analyzed using the theory and a general inductive approach for qualitative data analysis.This paper contributes to the literature on the use of immersive technologies in education and highlights the potential benefits of incorporating these technologies into the classroom.Autism is a neurobehavioral and neurodevelopmental condition that is identified through observable behaviors (Marotta et al., 2020).Behavior refers to the observable actions or reactions of an individual in response to their environment (Delahooke, 2021).Behavior can be influenced by a variety of factors such as environment, genetics, sensory stimuli, biology or experiences (Geschwind & Levitt, 2007).Several medical or psychiatric conditions occur alongside autism with nearly three-quarters of autistic children diagnosed with a co-occurring condition