Awareness of toddlers' initial cognitive experiences with virtual reality

In this study Virtual Reality technology was used to simulate a toddler's first few days' experiences in daycare and improve the caregiver's understanding of their state of mind. The virtual worlds were developed in accordance with toddlers' way of thinking and from their cognitive and visual viewpoint. The aim of the research was to investigate whether the caregiver's awareness to the cognitive experiences that toddlers undergo in their first days in kindergarten improves through a VR simulation of toddlers' worlds. Six cognitive elements of toddlers were simulated: object constancy; trial and error; perspective of height; perspective of things; egocentricity and imagination. The participants in this study were 40 (female) caregivers who work with infants aged 6 months to 4 years in private daycare. The findings indicate that experiencing a virtual world that reflects the real world of children improves the caregiver's awareness to the cognitive experiences that toddlers undergo in their first days in a kindergarten or daycare.