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9. The emotional impact of nature seen through the lenses of virtual reality (VR) and revealed through the power of expressive art

  • Gabriella Rodolico (author)
  • Fiona McGregor (author)
Chapter of: Stories of Hope: Reimagining Education(pp. 111–124)

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Metadata
Title9. The emotional impact of nature seen through the lenses of virtual reality (VR) and revealed through the power of expressive art
ContributorGabriella Rodolico (author)
Fiona McGregor (author)
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.11647/obp.0462.09
Landing pagehttps://www.openbookpublishers.com/books/10.11647/obp.0462/chapters/10.11647/obp.0462.09
Licensehttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
CopyrightGabriella Rodolico; Fiona McGregor;
PublisherOpen Book Publishers
Published on2025-07-02
Long abstractThis chapter explores the integration of Virtual Reality (VR) technology, expressive art, and nature exploration to enrich educational experiences and enhance education. The VR-ART project aimed to foster a deeper connection to nature by using VR to evoke emotions and visual art to facilitate the exploration and expression of those feelings. The project’s outcomes were transformed into pedagogical artifacts for Pre-Service Teachers (PSTs), offering practical examples and opportunities for reflective practice. These resources serve as exemplars of innovative teaching approaches, highlighting the potential of combining technology, art, and nature to create meaningful learning experiences and foster hope.
Page rangepp. 111–124
Print length14 pages
LanguageEnglish (Original)
Contributors

Gabriella Rodolico

(author)

Dr Gabriella Rodolico is Senior Lecturer in Science Education (Biology) at the School of Education, has expertise in the implementation of innovative technologies such as virtual reality (VR) in Initial Teacher Education courses as well as experience of teaching in secondary school and Higher Education. Dr Rodolico led VR projects with international partners through several funding streams such as International Partnership Development Funding, British Council Going Global. She has also conducted, in collaboration with Dr Hirsu, a series of projects involving VR supported lessons and the impact on the learning and teaching experience of student teachers on the ITE programmes (see Rodolico & Hirsu, 2023, https://doi.org/10.1080/09523987.2023.2262195). Dr Rodolico has been awarded the LearnSci Teaching Innovation Awards 2021 in collaboration with the Science team at the School of Education for the outstanding work in integrating innovative technology in ITE Science courses and her work has been presented at the “Scottish Government Academic Seminar Series—The Future Curriculum” and published on the Education Scotland website: https://education.gov.scot/improvement/research/virtual-reality-in-a-scottish-context/. She is also collaborating with Dr Hirsu on the extended reality (XR) in Education White Paper Project (see https://www.gla.ac.uk/news/headline_1040288_en.html).

Fiona McGregor

(author)

Fiona McGregor holds the position of Lecturer in Art and Design Education and inter/multidisciplinary thinking in Art and Design at the School of Education. Her role entails overseeing the delivery of Art and Design education across ITE and taking charge as course lead for PGDE Art and Design at Primary and Secondary level, as well as Undergraduate ITE. Fiona’s expertise in assessing Art and Design is well-established, and she has made significant contributions to policymaking in Art and Design Education. Her dedication to improving Art and Design education, and her efforts to encourage interdisciplinary learning in schools, have made her an influential figure in the field of Art and Design education. Since 2018, Fiona has collaborated with the Royal Society of Edinburgh’s education advisory committee, promoting interdisciplinary learning in schools. This initiative culminated in the inaugural Interdisciplinary Learning conference—Interdisciplinary Learning: Creative Thinking for a Complex World (RSE, January 2020)—and the subsequent advice paper for schools (RSE, February 2020).

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