Virtual Reality Impacts on Novice Programmers' Self-Efficacy

Virtual Reality has been used to improve motivation and help in the visualization of complex computing topics. However, few studies directly compared immersive and non-immersive environments. To address this limitation, we developed Abacus, a programming environment that can run in both immersive and non-immersive modes. We conducted a between-subjects study (n=40), with twenty participants assigned to the desktop mode and twenty participants assigned to the VR mode. Participants used a block-based editor to complete two programming tasks: a non-spatial procedural task, and a spatial 3D math task. We found that VR led to higher gains in self-efficacy and that the gain was significant for participants with lower initial levels of experience and spatial skills.