A Preliminary Study of Social-Emotional Learning Skills Assessment in Virtual Reality

Social-emotional learning (SEL) skills are necessary for children to develop in a rapidly changing global society. Indirect measures of SEL skills, such as rating scales, are mediated by the perception of the rater and current direct assessments are a better indicator of SEL knowledge rather than skills. New technologies such as virtual reality (VR) offer a new medium for direct SEL assessment. The current study provides preliminary evidence that virtual stimuli in VR can elicit expected behavioral responses in children. Heart rate (HR) was used to indicate acute stress within VR and may be used to understand physiological responses while in VR. Additional research is needed to demonstrate the use of VR in school settings for SEL assessment.