Engaging pre-service mathematics teachers in creating spatially-based problems in a 3D virtual environment: a CAVE2TM experience

The use of multiuser virtual environments for educational purposes is in its infancy but offers potential for exploration of spatial contexts that could not otherwise be experienced. We report on pre-service teachers’ experiences in designing learning activities as a result of immersion in the CAVE2TM, a 320-degree, cylindrical 3D virtual environment. Observation of student actions and analysis of student-developed artefacts indicated that 3D and 2D interference impacted the design of immersive learning experiences. We hypothesise that pre-service teachers’ capacity to recognise and seize the potential of the CAVE2TM for promoting spatial reasoning is predicated on their own spatial reasoning capabilities.