Meta-Mate: A VR Escape Room for the Study of Integrals

In order to improve traditional education, technological solution are often used to overcome the limitations of the physical world and provide comprehensive and engaging learning experiences. Specifically, several studies showed that immersive technologies, such as Virtual Reality (VR), can be used to create enjoyable experiences where the study of difficult topics, i.e., abstract and complex concepts typical of mathematics education, is facilitated. This result is usually associated with the immersion and the high sense of presence that is characteristic of VR applications. Additionally, the combined use of VR and gamification methods, such as challenges, rewards, and a coherent narrative, can further enhance the overall engagement and enjoyment associated with the immersive experience, thus leading to more fulfilling and effective learning solutions. Starting from these considerations, the aim of this paper is to present a VR escape room where students can learn the main concepts of integration and differentiation in a novel and engaging way. The devised VR application, that was designed with the help of mathematics teachers to focus both on the correctness of the presented topics and on the overall effectiveness of the learning experience, consists of a virtual environment where students can progressively explore the concept of integral through a series of challenges (integration and differentiation, antiderivative, integration by substitution, integration by parts, definite integrals, mean value theorem, solids of revolution). The VR escape room was tested with high school students, and its evaluation was conducted through a user study leveraging both subjective and objective measures.