Learning Spatial Reasoning in Virtual vs. Physical Games with Robots

Abstract

Spatial reasoning is one of the malleable skills well-suited to be developed using robotics that not only benefits children in their pursuit of STEM-related topics but also fosters their perspective-taking skills on dimensions beyond spatial skills. In a study involving elementary school children aged 7-10 years old, we investigated the impact of playing a game with physical robots in a physical environment versus playing the same game with virtually embodied robots in a virtual environment. The game focused on developing spatial perspective-taking skills, requiring children to make moves based on the robots' point of view. We examined how the two environments influenced their experience of fun and learning spatial reasoning skills. We conducted a between-subject user study with 59 participants from 3rd and 4th grades, where they either played with the physical or virtual version of the game. Children in both conditions showed significant improvement in their perspective-taking and spatial orientation test scores. Furthermore, they rated the physical game as more fun compared to the virtual version.