An experiential learning-based virtual reality approach to fostering problem-resolving competence in professional training

In professional training courses, developing incumbents’ professional knowledge and problem-solving skills when facing clinical and urgent situations is a crucial point. In conventional professional training, usually the learning content is delivered in a lecture-based mode using instructional videos with some case studies. In such a training mode, trainees are more passive and cannot immerse themselves in the contexts since there is a lack of opportunity to experience the process of coping with problems when accidents occur. Moreover, trainers generally do not have sufficient practice and are unable to think in depth regarding how to use the learned knowledge and skills to deal with practical cases. To tackle this problem, an experiential learning-based virtual reality approach is proposed in the present study. Accordingly, a virtual reality-based learning environment was implemented; moreover, a quasi-experimental study was carried out to verify the effectiveness of this approach in a professional training program of a hospital by exploring its influences on nursing staff’s learning achievement and perceptions from diverse angles. The experimental results showed that the proposed approach better enhanced the nursing staff’s learning achievement, learning attitudes, and problem-solving skills in comparison with the conventional teaching mode.