Enhancing pre-service teachers' understanding of density through the CAVE virtual reality experience

The concept of density is difficult for students to understand because it cannot be directly observed. To gain a deeper understanding of this concept, students need to learn about density at the microscopic and macroscopic levels. Virtual Reality (VR) provides an opportunity for students to experience the phenomena at both levels. A density exploration simulation was used in a Cave Automatic Virtual Environment (CAVE) to investigate the impact of the CAVE on preservice teachers' understanding of density. Three preservice teachers were interviewed before and after their CAVE experience on the concept of density. The data collected consisted of participants' recorded audio responses, written texts, and drawings made during the interviews. Thematic analysis was used to examine the raw data, and three major themes emerged regarding participants' understanding of the concept of density. The experience helped participants visualize water and oil molecules, recognize differences in molecular structures, explore the role of intermolecular forces in determining water density, and observe that air does not affect ice density at the microscopic scale. The study suggests that students can benefit from VR experiences such as those in the CAVE to explore density at macroscopic and microscopic levels.