On the Issue of Teaching Psychological and Pedagogical Disciplines at Universities Using Immersive Technologies

Abstract

The use of immersive technology enables high-quality educational simulations. The immersive technology in the classroom initiative provides access to virtual, augmented, and mixed- reality simulations for students and faculty across the pedagogical spectrum. The Virtual Immersive Teaching and Learning Initiative contributes to a growing body of research in this area. Through research that compares traditional educational simulation methods with immersive methods, the findings from an experiment conducted among BSMU medical psychology students are presented. Until recently the teaching of any discipline was considered to be the mastering of the necessary theoretical and practical knowledge and skills by the students, but recently, with the development of science and the increase in the necessary amount of knowledge, it has become more and more important to provide students with an excellent theoretical basis for independent study of the subject, and this in distance conditions becomes possible thanks to technology and immersive learning. To confirm the working hypothesis, a qualitative survey of 34 students of the Bukovinian State Medical University, specialty “Medical Psychology” was conducted. A closed questionnaire survey of students helped to diagnose their deep learning needs and determine the effectiveness and feasibility of using immersive learning. In addition, the results of the survey made it possible to reveal students' opinions about the profile of the ideal teacher in the era of digital and immersive technologies. It turned out that the use of immersive learning for psychologists yields high results is perceived with enthusiasm by students and is a feasible element for the methodology of teaching a foreign language.