Evaluation of Ohio Agricultural Education Students’ Performance and User Experience in a Virtual Reality Machinery Safety Experience

Agriculture is one of the most hazardous industries in the United States for all workers, and even more so for young workers. In the U.S., legislation prescribes training for youth under the age of 16 working in hazardous situations in production agriculture. Virtual Reality (VR) technology has become an increasingly popular means of deploying training for various disciplines. The purpose of this study was to determine the feasibility of a VR curriculum to provide a realistic and positive user experience for students in tractor and machinery safety operation lessons. The VR curriculum developed for the study was based on the National Safe Tractor and Machinery Operation Program. Ohio Agricultural Education students’ (n = 132) user experience data were analyzed, and found students had a positive experience in the virtual reality training. Results indicated that students had a positive user experience from the VR experience. Performance data from agricultural education students resulted in poor scores during the precheck and driving course. Finally, two groups of students comparing traditional training versus training using the VR experience resulted in a non-significant difference between the pass/fail rates. The implications of these findings suggest VR can provide a supplemental training method for tractor and machinery programs. It is recommended that this study be replicated with a larger sample of students as well as the evaluation of other VR-based educational experiences.