Mathematics teachers' self-regulated learning behaviors in an immersive virtual environment

Abstract

Virtual Environments (VEs) are emerging with developing technology, and teachers are necessary to educate themselves to employ technology to raise twenty-first century skills in the new generation. In this manner, Immersive Virtual Environments (IVEs) are the settings that encourage learners to be engaged, independent, and motivated, which are the features of self-regulated learners. The current study aims to investigate mathematics teachers’ self-regulated learning (SRL) behaviors in IVEs during problem-solving since promoting students’ SRL behaviors are possibly encouraged by teachers’ SRL behaviors. By considering the purpose of the study, a case study was conducted with eleven middle school mathematics teachers who were able to practice during the Pandemic by Prisms, an IVE focusing on exponential growth through a game. The video records were taken for the think-aloud data collection process. After the participants experienced the immersive environment, a semi-structured interview was conducted to get reflections on the experience. The transcripts of the records are analyzed by a coding scheme that includes four main phases of SRL behaviors: planning, monitoring, strategy use, and evaluation. The findings demonstrated that while planning has been the least referred SRL behavior, strategy use behavior was the most addressed SRL behavior. This study is significant to see similarities in the existing literature; however, understanding such environments requires further investigation before it is included in educational settings.