Purpose

Safety training can effectively facilitate workers’ safety awareness and prevent injuries and fatalities on construction sites. Traditional training methods are time-consuming, low participation, and less interaction, which is not suitable for students who are born in Generation Z (Gen Z) and expect to be positively engaged in the learning process. With the characteristic of immersive, interaction, and imagination, virtual reality (VR) has become a promising training method. The purpose of this study is to explore Gen Z students’ learning differences under VR and traditional conditions and determine whether VR technology is more suitable for Gen Z students.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper designed a comparison experiment that includes three training conditions: VR-based, classroom lecturing, and on-site practice. 32 sophomore students were divided into four groups and received different training methods. The eye movement data and hazard-identification index (HII) scores from four groups were collected to measure their hazard-identification ability. The differences between the participants before and after the test were tested by paired sample t-test, and the differences between the groups after the test were analyzed by one-way Welch’s analysis of variance (ANOVA) test.

Findings

The statistical findings showed that participants under VR technology condition spent less time finding and arriving at the Areas of Interest (AOIs). Both the eye movement data and HII scores indicated that VR-based safety training is an alternative approach for Gen Z students to traditional safety training methods.

Originality/value

These findings contribute to the theoretical implications by proving the applicability of VR technology to Gen Z students and empirical implications by guiding colleges and universities to design attractive safety training lessons.

中文翻译：

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Z世代学生施工危险识别培训：基于眼动数据的比较研究

目的

安全培训可以有效提高工人的安全意识，预防建筑工地伤亡事故。传统的培训方式耗时、参与度低、互动少，不适合Z世代（Gen Z）出生并期望积极参与学习过程的学生。虚拟现实（VR）以其沉浸式、交互性、想象力等特点，成为一种很有前景的培训方式。本研究的目的是探讨Z世代学生在VR和传统条件下的学习差异，并确定VR技术是否更适合Z世代学生。

设计/方法论/途径

本文设计了对比实验，包括VR、课堂讲授、现场实践三种训练条件。32名大二学生被分成四组，接受不同的训练方式。收集四组人员的眼动数据和危险识别指数（HII）分数，以衡量他们的危险识别能力。测试前后参与者之间的差异采用配对样本t检验进行检验，测试后各组之间的差异采用单向韦尔奇方差分析（ANOVA）检验进行分析。

发现

统计结果显示，VR技术条件下的参与者花费更少的时间寻找和到达感兴趣的区域（AOI）。眼动数据和 HII 分数都表明，基于 VR 的安全培训是 Z 世代学生传统安全培训方法的替代方法。

原创性/价值

这些发现通过证明 VR 技术对 Z 世代学生的适用性来提供理论意义，并通过指导学院和大学设计有吸引力的安全培训课程来提供实证意义。