Enhancing Cognitive Skills of Hearing Impaired Children with 3D Rotating Objects in Virtual Reality
David Passig and Sigal Eden. Bar-Ilan University, Israel.
Abstract
The deficiency of the auditory sense in the hearing impaired raises the question, to what extent this deficiency affects their cognitive development and intellectual abilities. In studies that have been carried out over the years, many theories have been presented on the cognitive development and performance of the hearing impaired. Many researchers have found, that the area of conclusive thinking, and in particularly the process of induction, is especially difficult for the hearing impaired (Hylleyeist & Epstein, 1991).
The purpose of this study is to discover whether the practice of rotating three-dimensional objects will have an effect on the inductive processes used for shapes by hearing impaired children.
Induction is conclusive thinking in which general rules are reached from particular facts. There are different forms of induction. This study focuses on the induction of rules, which is the process of discovering the rule that dictates the order of components in a given series.
This research uses a new technological tool- “Virtual Reality”, to test whether it is possible to have an effect on inductive processes and sustain the cognitive development of the hearing impaired. The study uses a virtual 3-D computer game which presents the user with a problem to be solved by filling in missing information using a rule he must discover with the help of given stimuli. The best way to solve the problem is a combination of two variables – shape and rotation. This task involves inductive moves.
The study checked whether practicing the rotation of 3-D objects has an effect on the inductive processes used for shapes by hearing impaired children aged 9-11. The study also questioned the effect this had on the flexible thinking of the subjects. Before commencing with the study, a pilot was carried out to substantiate the virtual game as a research tool. The 10 hearing impaired children who took part in the pilot attained an average score of 4.2 out of 100. The actual study was carried out on 60 subjects, of which 44 were hearing impaired. The hearing impaired subjects were distributed into two groups: the experimental group and the control group. The experimental group played virtual 3-D ‘Tetris’, individually, for 15 minutes once a week over a period of three months. The control group played 2-D ‘Tetris’ over the same period of time. In addition, 16 children with normal hearing took part in the study as a second control group, in order to establish whether hearing impaired children really are at a disadvantage in terms of their inductive abilities and flexible thinking.
The experimental group and the hearing impaired control group were evaluated by a number of tests before and after the experiment was carried out:
Kuhlman-Finch’s (1957) resistance test, along with Feuerstein & Rand’s (1977) test in order to establish whether a change occurred in the subjects’ rotational abilities.
Cattell & Cattell’s (1965) sub-test “Structural Sequences” in order to establish whether practicing rotation by using VR has an effect on the inductive processes used for shapes by the hearing impaired.
Torrance’s (1966) sub-test “Circles” in order to establish whether practicing the rotation of 3-D objects, which allows for a variety of solutions, helps the subjects improve their flexible thinking.
Findings:
Practicing spatial rotation significantly improved the inductive thinking used for shapes by the experimental group as opposed to the hearing impaired control group, who did not improve significantly. Practicing spatial rotation significantly improved the flexible thinking of the experimental group as opposed to the hearing impaired control group. Before the experiment, it was discovered that the hearing impaired children attained lower scores in inductive abilities used for shapes and in flexible thinking than the children with normal hearing. After the experiment, however, the results of the experimental group, in both variables, improved to the extent that there was no noticeable difference between them and the control group of children with normal hearing. Practicing spatial rotation significantly improved the rotational abilities of the experimental group in comparison to the hearing impaired control group. In addition, it was discovered before the experiment that the hearing impaired children attained lower scores than the children with normal hearing in terms of rotational skills. After the experiment, however, there was no noticeable difference between the experimental group and the children with normal hearing.
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