{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,9]],"date-time":"2026-10-09T11:44:28Z","timestamp":1791546268661,"version":"4.3.4"},"reference-count":38,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,2,26]],"date-time":"2025-02-26T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1740528000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Psychol."],"abstract":"<jats:sec><jats:title>Background<\/jats:title><jats:p>Sailing has been proved beneficial for physical and mental health promotion, which has made it a prevalent sport among children and adolescents. Nevertheless, the existing pedagogical strategies cannot satisfy students\u2019 demands for learning. To bridge this gap, virtual reality (VR) is considered an innovative approach to addressing the challenges in sailing education.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Objective<\/jats:title><jats:p>The study aimed at designing an education program to examine effectiveness of VR technology in sail knowledge learning.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title><jats:p>University students with no prior experience or knowledge in sailing were recruited and randomly allocated to either experimental group (<jats:italic>N<\/jats:italic>\u202f=\u202f32) using VR in lectures and self-practice or control group (<jats:italic>N<\/jats:italic>\u202f=\u202f34) attending traditional lectures. The sail education program consisted of 12 sessions over 6\u202fweeks. Sailing knowledge test was developed from an official manual by American Sailing Association to assess outcomes of learning in overall performance, sailboat structure, sailing skills, and navigation rules. The Situational Motivation Scale (SIMS) was used to assess the constructs of intrinsic motivation, identified regulation, external regulation, and amotivation. A 2\u202f\u00d7\u202f2 MANOVA was conducted for statistical analysis.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>Both groups improved accuracy rate after the program, with significant time effects in all outcome measures. Particular advantages of VR were identified in facilitating knowledge learning on sailing skills and navigation rules. Significant interaction effects suggest that application of VR induced greater improvement than traditional lectures. Comparable performance between the two groups was found in sailboat structure, with non-significant results in group effect and interaction effect. What\u2019s more, VR could better improve students\u2019 intrinsic motivation and identified regulation while better reduce external motivation and amotivation in sailing lessons.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title><jats:p>The findings verified feasibility of applying VR to promote sail education for student novices. To enhance effects of VR in teaching and learning, course design should focus on reflective connections between knowledge and experience, which stimulate students in active, engaging, and insightful learning.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2025.1498725","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,2,26]],"date-time":"2025-02-26T07:35:46Z","timestamp":1740555346000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Applying virtual reality to sail education: an innovative strategy to enhance knowledge learning for student novices"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"Shan","family":"Zhao","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Fa","family":"Ji","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,2,26]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","volume-title":"Sailing made easy","year":"2010"},{"key":"ref2","volume-title":"Self-determination theory. Basic psychological needs in motivation, development and wellness","author":"Bouffard","year":"2017"},{"key":"ref3","volume-title":"Educational assessment of students","author":"Brookhart","year":"2011"},{"key":"ref4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"15","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijer.2013.01.004","article-title":"Effects of a tall ship sail training experience on adolescents\u2019 self-concept","volume":"58","author":"Capurso","year":"2013","journal-title":"Int. J. Educ. Res."},{"key":"ref5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"150","DOI":"10.3390\/educsci14020150","article-title":"Level of satisfaction with the application of the collaborative model of the flipped classroom in the sport of sailing","volume":"14","author":"Caraballo Vidal","year":"2024","journal-title":"Educ. Sci."},{"key":"ref6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"103751","DOI":"10.1016\/j.compedu.2019.103751","article-title":"Effects of peer assessment within the context of spherical video-based virtual reality on EFL students\u2019 English-speaking performance and learning perceptions","volume":"146","author":"Chien","year":"2020","journal-title":"Comput. Educ."},{"key":"ref7","volume-title":"Behavioral sciences, economics, finance, Business & Industry, social sciences","author":"Cohen","year":"1988"},{"key":"ref8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"227","DOI":"10.1080\/14729679.2018.1424001","article-title":"An exploration of the perceived health, life skill and academic benefits of dinghy sailing for 9-13-year-old school children","volume":"18","author":"Cotterill","year":"2018","journal-title":"J. Adventure Educ. Outdoor Learn."},{"key":"ref9","first-page":"237","article-title":"A motivational approach to self: integration in personality","volume-title":"Nebraska symposium on motivation","author":"Deci","year":"1991"},{"key":"ref10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"227","DOI":"10.1207\/S15327965PLI1104_01","article-title":"The \u201cwhat\u201d and \u201cwhy\u201d of goal pursuits: human needs and the self-determination of behavior","volume":"11","author":"Deci","year":"2000","journal-title":"Psychol. Inq."},{"key":"ref11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1149","DOI":"10.3758\/BRM.41.4.1149","article-title":"Statistical power analyses using G*power 3.1: tests for correlation and regression analyses","volume":"41","author":"Faul","year":"2009","journal-title":"Behav. Res. Methods"},{"key":"ref12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"321","DOI":"10.1002\/pits.21901","article-title":"Intrinsic motivation, learning goals, engagement, and achievement in a diverse high school","volume":"53","author":"Froiland","year":"2016","journal-title":"Psychol. Sch."},{"key":"ref13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"441","DOI":"10.1177\/1046878102238607","article-title":"Games, motivation, and learning: a research and practice model","volume":"33","author":"Garris","year":"2002","journal-title":"Simul. Gaming"},{"key":"ref14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2183","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2017.02183","article-title":"Transfer of training from virtual to real baseball batting","volume":"8","author":"Gray","year":"2017","journal-title":"Front. Psychol."},{"key":"ref15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"175","DOI":"10.1023\/A:1005614228250","article-title":"On the assessment of situational intrinsic and extrinsic motivation: the situational motivation scale (SIMS)","volume":"24","author":"Guay","year":"2000","journal-title":"Motiv. Emot."},{"key":"ref16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"420","DOI":"10.1111\/bjet.12842","article-title":"Immersive virtual field trips in education: a mixed-methods study on elementary students' presence and perceived learning","volume":"51","author":"Han","year":"2020","journal-title":"Br. J. Educ. Technol."},{"key":"ref17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"43","DOI":"10.3102\/00346543067001043","article-title":"Adventure education and outward bound: out-of-class experiences that make a lasting difference","volume":"67","author":"Hattie","year":"1997","journal-title":"Rev. Educ. Res."},{"key":"ref18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1185415","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2023.1185415","article-title":"Virtual reality: a promising instrument to promote sail education","volume":"14","author":"Ji","year":"2023","journal-title":"Front. Psychol."},{"key":"ref19","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1141","DOI":"10.1109\/TLT.2023.3307211","article-title":"Theory-driven Design in Metaverse Virtual Reality Learning Environments: two illustrative cases","volume":"16","author":"Kim","year":"2023","journal-title":"IEEE Trans. Learn. Technol."},{"key":"ref20","volume-title":"Experiential learning: experience as the source of learning and development","author":"Kolb","year":"1984"},{"key":"ref21","volume-title":"Measurement and evaluation of learning","author":"Lien","year":"1971"},{"key":"ref22","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"661","DOI":"10.1080\/03054985.2010.495466","article-title":"Sail training as education: more than mere adventure","volume":"36","author":"Mcculloch","year":"2010","journal-title":"Oxf. Rev. Educ."},{"key":"ref23","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"513","DOI":"10.1080\/02701367.2017.1376032","article-title":"Effect of teaching races for understanding in youth sailing on performance, knowledge, and adherence","volume":"88","author":"Morales-Belando","year":"2017","journal-title":"Res. Q. Exerc. Sport"},{"key":"ref24","volume-title":"Psychometric theory","author":"Nunnally","year":"1994"},{"key":"ref25","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"4332","DOI":"10.1109\/TVCG.2021.3086403","article-title":"Performance improvement and skill transfer in table tennis through training in virtual reality","volume":"28","author":"Oagaz","year":"2022","journal-title":"IEEE Trans. Vis. Comput. Graph."},{"key":"ref26","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1603613","DOI":"10.1080\/2331186X.2019.1603613","article-title":"The situational motivational scale (SIMS) in physical education: a validation study among Norwegian adolescents","volume":"6","author":"\u00d8sterlie","year":"2019","journal-title":"Cogent Educ."},{"key":"ref27","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"104868","DOI":"10.1016\/j.nedt.2021.104868","article-title":"Virtual reality simulations in nurse education: a systematic mapping review","volume":"101","author":"Plotzky","year":"2021","journal-title":"Nurse Educ. Today"},{"key":"ref28","volume-title":"Five-year plan for sailing promotion (2021\u20132025)","author":"Qingdao","year":"2021"},{"key":"ref29","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"10","DOI":"10.1145\/973801.973818","article-title":"Learning by doing and learning through play: an exploration of interactivity in virtual environments for children","volume":"2","author":"Roussou","year":"2004","journal-title":"Comput. Entertain."},{"key":"ref30","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"101860","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cedpsych.2020.101860","article-title":"Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation from a self-determination theory perspective: definitions, theory, practices, and future directions","volume":"61","author":"Ryan","year":"2020","journal-title":"Contemp. Educ. Psychol."},{"key":"ref31","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"987","DOI":"10.1177\/1356336X20911386","article-title":"\u201cYou're sitting on a hot soccer field drinking Gatorade \u2026 I\u2019m sitting in a yacht club just enjoying the view, enjoying the drinks\u201d: parental reproduction of social class through school sport sailing","volume":"26","author":"Schmitt","year":"2020","journal-title":"Eur. Phys. Educ. Rev."},{"key":"ref32","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1084","DOI":"10.1080\/0020739X.2023.2197906","article-title":"Embodied learning in a virtual mathematics classroom: an example lesson","volume":"55","author":"Smith","year":"2024","journal-title":"Int. J. Math. Educ. Sci. Technol."},{"key":"ref33","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3390\/s23063077","article-title":"Head-mounted display for clinical evaluation of neck movement validation with Meta quest 2","volume":"23","author":"Trinidad-Fern\u00e1ndez","year":"2023","journal-title":"Sensors"},{"key":"ref34","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2970","DOI":"10.1109\/TVCG.2020.3046326","article-title":"Feasibility study on virtual reality based basketball tactic training","volume":"28","author":"Tsai","year":"2022","journal-title":"IEEE Trans. Vis. Comput. Graph."},{"key":"ref35","first-page":"271","article-title":"Toward a hierarchical model of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation","volume-title":"Advances in experimental social psychology","author":"Vallerand","year":"1997"},{"key":"ref36","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"73","DOI":"10.3389\/fsurg.2018.00073","article-title":"Immersive anatomy atlas-empirical study investigating the usability of a virtual reality environment as a learning tool for anatomy","volume":"5","author":"Weyhe","year":"2018","journal-title":"Front. Surg."},{"key":"ref37","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1991","DOI":"10.1111\/bjet.13023","article-title":"Effectiveness of immersive virtual reality using head-mounted displays on learning performance: a meta-analysis","volume":"51","author":"Wu","year":"2020","journal-title":"Br. J. Educ. Technol."},{"key":"ref38","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1105359","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2023.1105359","article-title":"Effects of tai chi on insomnia in elderly people with chronic non-specific low back pain: a study protocol for a randomized controlled trial","volume":"14","author":"Zhang","year":"2023","journal-title":"Front. Psychol."}],"container-title":["Frontiers in Psychology"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fpsyg.2025.1498725\/full","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,2,26]],"date-time":"2025-02-26T07:35:52Z","timestamp":1740555352000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fpsyg.2025.1498725\/full"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2025,2,26]]},"references-count":38,"alternative-id":["10.3389\/fpsyg.2025.1498725"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/fpsyg.2025.1498725","relation":{},"ISSN":["1664-1078"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1664-1078","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2025,2,26]]},"article-number":"1498725"}}