About this Research Topic

Background

The modern advancement and interdisciplinary use of virtual and augmented reality immersive technologies has rapidly evolved and in parallel has also advanced the way medical education is being taught in the 21st century. However, careful evidence-based reports on which virtual and augmented reality technologies, pedagogical methods, and instructional design have not advanced at the same pace of the fields reporting on the vast number of new methodological approaches to teaching in virtual reality. Some examples of this gap within the literature relate to which immersive technologies and teaching methods have been proven to be effective for instructional learning, what are the best moments to use virtual and augmented reality to integrate it into the pedagogical curriculum, what instructional designs work best and why, and how does such virtual reality pedagogy influence the learner's cognitive load when compared to the traditional lecture. These questions are important for the field to address in order to advance in meaningful and responsible ways that provide evidence-based teaching and research corroborating evidence to guide the future development of immersive technologies pedagogy in medical education.

With this Research Topic we aim to highlight the importance of this rapidly growing area of immersive technology and its pedagogical utility in training medical and allied healthcare professionals providing a forum to discuss (i) basic research on the learner’s cognitive load and procedural skills learned through such interventions, (ii) identifying how simulation vs. reality trainings differ in their realism that directly influence learner outcomes, (iii) the use of virtual reality interventions reducing cognitive load and procedural errors, iv) immersive technology supporting collaborative learning, especially in the context of COVID-19 pandemic and (v) future goals and directions elucidating the clinical and medical educational relevance of virtual and augmented reality teaching instructions vs. traditional lecture learning.
An in-depth investigation will be carried out by exploring immersive technology pedagogy in medical science education through the following subtopics:

• 180° Stereoscopic First-Person Point-of-View;
• Medical training techniques;
• Neurosurgical and surgical techniques;
• Training comprehension and reliability measures;
• Reducing errors in Procedural Learning;
• Occupational health and safety;
• Emergency medical procedures;
• Portable learning and training devices vs. traditional lectures
• Collaborative and peer learning.
We welcome submissions of reviews and original research addressing this fundamental question on the use of virtual and augmented reality pedagogy in modernizing medical education from a broad range of perspectives. We also welcome integrative approaches that can show integrative and cross-disciplinary perspectives on the use of immersive technology, instructional design, pedagogical methodologies, and learner impacts on skill acquisition, up-skilling, and re-skilling future generations of medical and allied healthcare professionals. Insights gained from these approaches will further the field's understanding of the functional consequences of virtual and augmented reality pedagogies and how they relate with a range of medical science education advancements that will continue to shape the 21st century.

Maxime Ros is a Co-founder and CEO of Revinax. Lorenz S. Neuwirth is a collaborator of Maxime Ros. The other Topic Editor declares no competing interests with regard to the Research Topic subject.

Keywords: Virtual Reality, Medical Interventions, Medical Education, Immersive Learning, Virtual Reality Pedagogy

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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