NCT05242575

The Influence of Immersive Virtual Field Trips on Academic Vocabulary

Completed NA Last updated 12 April 2023

What this trial tests

NA trial testing The information provided in the iVFT and control book parallel one another. in Developmental Language Disorder in 30 participants. Completed in 6 June 2022.

Timeline

7 October 2021

Primary endpoint
1 March 2022

6 June 2022

Quick facts

Lead sponsor	Salus University
Phase	NA
Status	Completed
Study type	INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation	randomized
Design	parallel
Masking	none
Primary purpose	treatment
Enrollment	30
Start date	7 October 2021
Primary completion	1 March 2022
Estimated completion	6 June 2022
Sites	1 location across United States

Drugs / interventions tested

• The information provided in the iVFT and control book parallel one another.

Conditions studied

• Developmental Language Disorder — all drugs for Developmental Language Disorder →
• Language Disorders in Children — all drugs for Language Disorders in Children →

Sponsor

Salus University

Who can join

Adults 6 to 8, any sex, with Developmental Language Disorder or Language Disorders in Children. Patients with the condition only — healthy volunteers not accepted.

Sponsor's own description

The purpose of this study is to investigate an immersive virtual field trip (iVFT) on topic specific academic vocabulary for students with developmental language disorder (DLD). DLD is the most common childhood learning disorder with a prevalence of 7.4%(1) and occurs in the absence of a known biomedical condition (e.g., hearing loss, autism, stroke, intellectual disability). DLD affects a person's academic and social function due to difficulty with using and understanding language.(2,3) Approximately half of students with DLD have a deficit in vocabulary that persists through highschool.(4) Once children fall behind in their language and vocabulary development, it is very difficult to catch up generally resulting in a wider gap as they progress through their school years. This deficit can have cascading social, mental health, occupational and financial consequences.(5) There is preliminary evidence that a virtual reality experience such as an immersive virtual field trip (iVFT) was beneficial for facilitating vocabulary and comprehension in general education(6-8) and within targeted populations of students including second language learners(9) and those with learning differences (e.g., autism,(10) attention deficit hyperactivity,(11,12) and dyslexia(13). The term "immersive" refers to a state of heightened sensation when viewing a simulated environment that is superimposed onto a screen with embedded multisensory input (e.g., visual, auditory, proprioceptive).(14) The viewer looks through 3D goggles to block out the present environment resulting in a feeling of presence. These simulated experiences or destinations (e.g., space) are a type of VR referred to as an immersive virtual field trip (iVFT).

To date, there is a lack of empirical evidence, explicitly targeting academic vocabulary growth for early grade school students with DLD. In addition, no study has reported on learning outcomes of students with DLD following a VR condition. Therefore, the primary study objective was to compare gains in academic vocabulary measures between a traditional book condition and an iVFT learning condition for young students with DLD.

Publications & conference data

No peer-reviewed publications indexed yet for this trial. Completed trials usually publish results within 12-18 months.