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