Enhancing psychomotor skills in high school students using virtual reality

Abstract

Introduction: Many school-aged children and adolescents across Europe face coordination difficulties. Virtual reality, particularly through exergames, presents a promising solution by offering physical exercise and enhancing psychomotor skills while increasing overall physical activity levels. In this study, we assessed two key components of psychomotor skills: reaction time and eye–hand coordination in high school students. Materials and methods: The intervention program comprised tasks requiring motor and cognitive dual-task performance, focusing on motor coordination, attention, processing speed, focus, decision-making abilities, and memory within a virtual environment. The virtual reality exercises used Oculus Quest 2 developed by Meta (Facebook Technologies, LLC, 1 Hacker Way, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA). Results: The results of the study showed statistically significant (p < .05) reductions in choice reaction time and improvements in eye–hand coordination between pre- and post-test in the experimental group. Additionally, there was a significant difference (p < .05) in post-test results of the AHWT and Deary–Liewald test between the experimental and control groups. Discussion: There are various mechanisms to explain the faster reaction time observed after the exergames intervention. This improvement may be attributed to enhanced concentration, increased alertness, and better muscle coordination in terms of speed and precision. Our results align with other literature demonstrating the potential of virtual reality (VR) to reduce reaction time and improve eye–hand coordination. Conclusions: Virtual reality training is more effective than real-world training for reducing choice reaction time and improving eye–hand coordination in high school students.