An evaluation of the efficacy of training people with learning disabilities in a virtual environment
| Authors: | Brouwers, E. P. M., Tiemens, B. G., Terluin, B., & Verhaak, P. F. M. |
|---|---|
| Year Published | 2002 |
| Publication | Disability and Rehabilitation |
| Volume | 24 |
| Number | 11 |
| Pages | 622-626 |
| Publisher | Informa Healthcare |
| Background |
The majority of people with learning disabilities in the United Kingdom do not get the opportunity to work because they are often denied appropriate vocational training. |
| Purpose |
To evaluate the efficacy of using a virtual kitchen for vocational training of people with learning disabilities. |
| Setting |
The settings were schools for training in catering for individuals with disabilities in the United Kingdom. |
| Sample |
The sample size included 24 catering students with learning disabilities. |
| Data Collection |
Pre-test, post-test, and improvement scores were collected. |
| Control |
Students were their own controls. |
| Findings |
Virtual training was found to be as beneficial as really training and more beneficial than workbook training. |
| Conclusions |
Vocational students with learning disabilities were able to use the virtual environment and were motivated to learn using this training method. Depending on the task being trained, virtual training had a more beneficial effect on real task performance than workbook training, even when the virtual kitchen was not modeled on the real training kitchen. (p. 622) |
| URL | http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12182802 |
| Disabilities | Specific learning disabilities |
| Populations | Male & Female |
| Outcomes | Other |
| NIDILRR Funded | No |
| Research Design | Single group |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |