There are approximately 800 deaths in highway work-zones each year; this unfortunate statistic points to a need for a re-evaluation of training methodology. This is the first in a series of papers that report on the use of virtual learning technology for work zone training of skilled and unskilled workers, with the goal to reduce accidents. This research tested the use of an Immersive Virtual Learning Environment (IVLE) simulating real-world highway work zones. IVLEs go beyond traditional visual learning by presenting images that combine a new form of visual learning and virtual-experiential learning in a way that is more congruent with an individual's visual images stored in memory, thus improving knowledge transfer and retention. The visual cues that the adult learner experiences in the virtual world are so similar to the visual cues in the real world that recall of virtual world lessons stored in memory are triggered by the same cues in the real world. Additionally, the adult learner can experiment, make mistakes, and repeat the activity as often as necessary, achieving a virtual-experiential understanding of the concept that can only be duplicated in real-world experiential learning, which is often not practical. Such immersive engagement in the learning activity will allow the adult learners to move beyond memorization of the presented concepts and into application and synthesis of the material.

A quasi-experimental design used a sample of 305 highway workers from government and private sources, who were diverse in education, socio-economic background, and propensity to use technology. Through a process of blind selection, half the sample participated in the traditional class (control) and half participated in a blended delivery method class, incorporating the virtual learning environment (experimental). Class size averaged 20 subjects per class, with a total of eight experimental and seven control classes. The subjects did not know which class they were participating in until they reported for class. Data collection instruments included pre and posttests, recording of the experimental class, and structured interviews of adult learners in the experimental class. Adult learner accuracy and response times while in the virtual learning environment were measured through the use of an embedded tracking database within the IVLE. This paper reports on the initial qualitative findings of the study. The results of the quantitative study, a more in-depth study of the emergent qualitative themes, and a longitudinal study of knowledge transfer and retention are planned for subsequent phases of this study, in order to gain an even greater understanding of this new addition to the science of pedagogy.

A significant benefit of this research will be a better understanding of how educators can employ this advanced, user-friendly, semi-transparent technology to positively affect inclusion of marginalized populations into virtual learning environments. Research revealed that many functionally literate adults fail to learn in adult, continuing education classes because they are placed back into the same learning structure (the traditional classroom) that failed them in their youth. Some predominant reasons for the failure of adult education include a feeling of intimidation, difficulty with text-based training, and discomfort with the classroom environment. The reinvention of visual learning combined with the advent of virtual-experiential learning in the virtual learning environment moves the adult learner out of the classic classroom and into an environment that diminishes this intimidation. This research will establish a solid theoretical and evidence based link between use of the virtual world learning environment and improved knowledge transfer and retention for that marginalized population that forms the bulk of the employment pool for military and industrial entry level positions. Once established, a brand new learning frontier opens in the digital world which has huge implications for the science and practice of modeling and simulation.