השפעת התערבות בפתרון אנלוגיות באמצעות טכנולוגיית מציאות מדומה (VR) על פתרון אנלוגיות מושגיות ותפיסתיות בקרב ילדי גן ממוצא אתיופי

The goal of this study was to examine whether an intervention program of an
immersive 3D VR simulation could improve the analogical thinking of
kindergarten children. The sample included 56 children aged 4 to 7, whose
parents immigrated to Israel during the last ten years from Ethiopia.
The CCPAM test (Tzuriel & Galinka, 2000) was employed for evaluating
Analogical thinking. The intervention program was designed according to the
CCPAM test and administered in three intervals: prior to the intervention,
immediately after the intervention, and three weeks after the intervention.
The experimental group (n=28) practiced the solution of analogies in 3D VR,
while the control group (n=28) practiced with a pictorial version of the items
in cards. The results show that both programs of intervention – VR and
picture cards – improved significantly their ability to solve both kinds of
analogies – perceptual and conceptual. However, the experimental group
improved their achievements to a statistically significant degree more than
the control group. The experimental group also preserved the solution
strategy three weeks after the intervention over significantly better than the
control group. The improvement in solving conceptual analogies was higher
than the improvement in solving perceptual analogies.