Jasmine Haynes, a graduate student in the social work track who is pursuing a doctorate in public affairs, and social work faculty members Denise Gammonley,  ˛ą˛Ô»ĺĚý conducted research this summer on the benefits of virtual reality in the classroom.

Their goals were to see if virtual reality could improve students’ feeling of preparedness in working with Alzheimer’s patients, as well as foster empathy for the patients and family members affected by the disease.

“It’s different than having students engage in role-playing or watch videos because one of the challenges with role-playing is that it is only as good as the actor,” Gammonley says. “We needed a better way of exposing students to these situations before we send them out into the field. With virtual reality, students get this experience in a way that feels more real to them.”

Melody Bowdon, interim vice provost of the division of teaching and learning and interim dean of the College of Undergraduate Studies, said the research has helped to convince her of the benefits of virtual reality in the classroom.

“There are some things that can’t be explained or described but that can be experienced through virtual reality.”

“I could see the value of VR for recreational and entertainment purposes before I became aware of the Embodied Labs virtual reality tool, but I didn’t see how it fit into the teaching world,” Bowdon says. “Now, I’m an advocate for it. There are some things that can’t be explained or described but that can be experienced through virtual reality.”

Researchers in the  are continuing to explore the use of virtual reality simulation training to enhance students’ preparedness in helping patients with other conditions. This kind of exposure helps standardize the learning experience because students are not exposed to individuals with every condition in their clinical training.

“Clinical training is so important to preparing students for their future as social workers,” Gammonley says. “But we have very little control over what they will be exposed to during that training. Virtual reality allows us to best prepare our students by exposing them to an array of conditions they are likely to see in their careers.”

The subject of Alzheimer’s is personal for Haynes; her grandfather, who suffered from Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, passed away in 2008.

“My grandfather was a pretty quiet individual,” she says, “but as his Alzheimer’s symptoms became more severe, he became more withdrawn and detached.”

That detachment is often an obstacle in treating someone with Alzheimer’s. It’s an uncomfortable territory for the patient, the family and the social worker.

After experiencing life vignettes through the perspective of a virtual Alzheimer’s patient, students feel more comfortable and prepared to work with these patients.

“Learning by experience can help students to connect with the concepts and tools we are teaching them,” Bowdon says. “When we can’t provide the exact experience we are looking to expose our students to in real life, virtual reality can bridge the gap and ignite another dimension of learning.”

Their life stories couldn’t be more distinctive. One grew up in a tight-knit neighborhood in the Bronx. Another spent his childhood in communist Poland. A third was raised in Jamaica, but also traveled to England.

All are residents of Winter Park Towers, a residential facility for seniors in Winter Park, Fla. They also are participants in a project involving students from the Â鶹ԭ´´.

This fall, Associate Professor Denise Gammonley from the School of Social Work teamed up with Connie Lester from the Department of History to lead a project designed to introduce undergraduates to the concept of “person-centered care.”

“Every senior has a unique set of life experiences that influence the sort of care he or she wants as an older adult,” Gammonley explained. “When seniors share their life history with their caregivers, the caregivers better understand a senior’s individual strengths and preferences. As a result, the relationships become more meaningful and everyone benefits.”

This is an especially important concept for social work students to understand because many will go on to work in elder care, she added.

Funding from the Winter Park Health Foundation enabled Gammonley and three graduate students to recruit 23 residents from Winter Park Towers to share their life history with a class of 22 undergraduates.

Many of the residents met with the students on one or more occasions to talk about their life. Three other residents chose to work with students to create a scrapbook about their life.

Another five residents agreed to respond to questions about their life while being videotaped. A team of undergraduates posed the questions to the resident while a student from Â鶹ԭ´´â€™s history department taped the interview, or “oral history.”

Among those providing an oral history was resident Betty Puryea, who was born in 1930. She shared fond memories of singing, playing the piano and fishing during her in childhood in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She also recalled meeting her husband, who was in the Air Force, while “on rollerskates,” and how much the couple enjoyed living at Patrick Air Force Base on the east coast of Central Florida.

“In life, it’s what you put into it, it’s what you do,” said Puryea. “Or you can sit back, and it’s not too good.” Not surprisingly, she prefers to remain active as an older adult and currently enjoys exercising, painting and reading.

Social work major Timothy Blinde, who helped interview Puryea, said the project offered him a unique opportunity to work with seniors and learn from their “experiential wealth.” The project also exposed him to career opportunities available in elder care.

“Winter Park Towers offers a rich array of services, supports and levels of care, so it’s a great setting for students to learn about employment roles within the elder-care workforce,” Gammonley said.

The growing elderly population and aging baby boom generation is creating considerable demand for social workers who specialize in working with the elderly, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

This spring, Gammonley and the graduate students will analyze data from the project to evaluate its effectiveness in several areas, including educating students about “person-centered care.”

In addition, the history department will add Puryea’s oral history and those of four other participating residents to its RICHES (Regional Initiative for Collecting the History, Experiences and Stories) of Central Florida website (, enabling many others to learn about the lives of some of the region’s senior-most residents.