  A ball on a stick is a common and simple activity for teaching the phases of
the Moon. This activity, like many others in physics and astronomy, gives
students a perspective they otherwise could only imagine. For Moon phases, a
third person view and control over time allows students to rapidly build a
mental model that connects all the moving parts. Computer simulations of many
traditional physics and astronomy activities provide new features, controls, or
vantage points to enhance learning beyond a hands-on activity. Virtual reality
provides the capabilities of computer simulations and embodied cognition
experiences through a hands-on activity making it a natural step to improve
learning. We recreated the traditional ball-and-stick moon phases activity in
virtual reality and compared participant learning using this simulation with
using traditional methods. We found a strong participant preference for VR
relative to the traditional methods. However, we observed no difference across
conditions in average levels of performance on a pre/post knowledge test.

Physics Education