Two custom first-person desktop VR learning contexts (Fairyland Garden and Moon Base) with cued mental reinstatement test protocol¶

Design · All designs
Evidence · 2 claims (2 for) · 1 study (1 causal), q3 · 1 of 1 report an effect size · 2 claims rest on one study

Description¶

The study built two custom, first-person desktop VR environments as learning contexts: "Fairyland Garden" was "bright, verdant, visually open", while "Moon Base" was "dark, rocky, closed-in", each containing nine named rooms. Learners navigated with mouse and keyboard, encountered 40 concrete objects per language along predetermined paths, and heard each translation three times. The contexts were created with the open source OpenSimulator platform, and a cued mental-reinstatement protocol prompted participants to imagine a specified room before each recall trial.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

Measure of participants' sense of presence to confirm contexts are subjectively experienced as real environments
Control of experimenter-related cues (single audio speaker for both languages, no verbal contact during procedures)

Constraints¶

Desktop rather than head-mounted display, which may have limited some participants' sense of presence

Target Learners¶

Adult English speakers learning foreign vocabulary in controlled settings

Learning Goals¶

Retention, transfer, and interference reduction for paired-associate foreign vocabulary learning

Claims¶

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

Joey Ka-Yee Essoe, Nicco Reggente, Ai Aileen Ohno, Younji Hera Baek, John Dell'Italia and Jesse Rissman. (2022). Enhancing learning and retention with distinctive virtual reality environments and mental context reinstatement. npj Science of Learning 7:31. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41539-022-00147-6

Page metadata

Field	Value
`type`	`design`
`id`	`vr-distinctive-contexts-learning-protocol-element`
`title`	`Two custom first-person desktop VR learning contexts (Fairyland Garden and Moon Base) with cued mental reinstatement test protocol`
`description`	`The study built two custom, first-person desktop VR environments as learning contexts: "Fairyland Garden" was "bright, verdant, visually open", while "Moon Base" was "dark, rocky, closed-in", each containing nine name...`
`status`	`review`
`generated`	by `process:settle-candidates` on `2026-10-27`
`trust`	unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content
`sources`	1 — `joey-ka-yee-essoe-2022`

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