For the second installment of the “VR × Education” series of the Learning of Tomorrow Online Symposium, we were honored to have Professor Narumi from the University of Tokyo as our guest speaker.

When it comes to the use of VR in education, attention tends to focus on how it enhances learning through immersive, extraordinary experiences.However, I am even more interested in its ability to enable ultra-fast learning and boost a sense of self-efficacy, as well as its potential to facilitate the design of inclusive learning environments by providing experiences from others’ perspectives. That is precisely why I find Professor Narumi’s research so fascinating.

Research has shown that using someone else’s avatar allows people to demonstrate abilities beyond their actual capabilities in a VR environment. For example, when people become Batman in VR, most stand up straighter, try to act like a hero, and exhibit more altruistic behavior in real life as well. Becoming Einstein’s avatar leads to improved academic performance.When people wear a musician’s avatar and play the drums, their hand movements become more expansive, and they are able to play rhythmically and skillfully. “This is because simply changing one’s physical form subconsciously frees up creativity and leads people to adopt behaviors and thought patterns that match that new identity,” explains Professor Narumi.

Furthermore, experiencing things through a “different body” can help us gain a new “perspective.” When a man uses an avatar to experience a woman’s perspective, he can reexamine himself from a new angle. When white people experience VR in the body of a Black person, their prejudices diminish.Using avatars in VR spaces makes it easier for students to ask instructors questions and for subordinates to speak their minds to their superiors. This is because the mental state and social relationships shaped by physical identity are reset. When the body changes, the mind changes. Professor Narumi points out that “the mind and body are inseparable and influence each other reciprocally.”

Furthermore, if you continue to use an avatar in VR that has characteristics completely different from your own, your image of yourself in reality may be overwritten by the avatar’s different characteristics, causing your inner self to change as well. It is said that research is underway into whether redesigning one’s body might bring one closer to the mental and cognitive states one desires.

For example, if you use a simulator to continuously provide feedback based on success experiences that differ from reality, you’ll come to believe, “I can do this,” and your actual performance is said to improve by about 20 percent. This allows you to achieve a state of mind where you believe, “I can succeed,” in a short period of time. I think the ability to build success experiences and gain a sense of self-efficacy in such a short time is unique to VR.

I’d like to delve a little deeper into Professor Narumi’s closing remark: “In an era where we can switch between virtual bodies and bring out our multifaceted personalities to put them to use in society, our concepts of personality, self, and ability will undergo a transformation.”

By the way, I’d like to add that I expect VR to be highly effective in creating inclusive learning environments. My reasoning is based on three points: It may help people with developmental disabilities or other characteristics adjust to their conditions, making it easier for them to integrate into the community; it could help others understand how people with these characteristics perceive the world; and it may be effective for social skills training.

By the way, according to Professor Narumi, setting your virtual background to a “bookshelf” tends to increase the trust others have in you, but it also tends to lower your self-esteem (*^^*). Give it a try.

Professor Narumi, thank you so much again this time!