The effect of design education using virtual reality-based coding on student competence and educational satisfaction

Virtual reality (VR) technology is playing a crucial role in the changing paradigm of education. In many cases, however, VR technology is not being taught because of the lack of relevant educational content at middle and high school levels. This study investigates the effect of design education using VR-based coding on students' competence and educational satisfaction in Korea. To develop a design education program using VR-based coding, examples of VR application and coding education were analyzed. Based on this analysis, we developed 2 design education programs for middle and high school students with the Korean school curriculum in mind. The program was taught to a sample of 301 students for six weeks. Following the implementation of the program, we conducted a satisfaction survey, and the correlation between the competence of middle and high school students and their educational satisfaction was statistically analyzed. The results showed that scientific competence exerts the greatest effect on students' overall educational satisfaction, followed by common competence, core competence, and information competence. Operational satisfaction was most affected by information competence, followed by core competence, common competence, and scientific competence. Core competence and information competence had a similar effect on levels of satisfaction with the educational environment. The developed program showed the potential to cultivate student competence and demonstrated that virtual reality-based coding is meaningful to design education. By understanding the competences that can exert a positive effect on satisfaction, this study is expected to provide effective baseline data for planning future curricula.