Enhancing cognitive abilities through the POE teaching strategy in a virtual learning environment

With the introduction of information technology into education, the educational environment has undergone qualitative changes, that is, from a real learning environment to a digital learning environment. In a virtual learning environment (VLE), learners not only perceive themselves in new ways but also construct themselves in new ways. However, the POE (Prediction-Observation-Explanation) teaching strategy includes prediction, observation, and explanation. At the entry point of the learning strategy, the effective interaction between teachers and students can promote the development of cognitive ability. Therefore, this paper analyzed the perceptual entropy and matching degree through the radar target tracking algorithm, aiming at analyzing the current situation of the classroom and the advantages of POE teaching strategies. The findings of the study indicate that the POE teaching strategy greatly enhances students’ cognitive ability by teaching through prediction, observation, and interpretation. The research offers a novel contribution to the field of POE teaching strategy under a virtual cultural learning environment by expanding the comprehensive benefits of its students’ cognitive ability cultivation, exploring its impact on students’ academic performance, and offering practical recommendations for its implementation in the learning environment. The research demonstrates that POE strategies have positive effects on students’ academic performance and attitudes toward physics. Under the radar target tracking algorithm, the model matching degree and simplified entropy of the POE teaching strategy were both increasing. The mean of the model fit was 0.61, which was 0.40 higher than that of the first day, and the mean of the simplified entropy was 0.38, which was 0.12 higher than that of the first day. Finally, the cognitive ability and cognitive regulation ability of students under the POE teaching strategy were higher than those of the traditional teaching strategy. Compared with the traditional teaching strategy, cognitive ability was 9% higher, and cognitive regulation ability was 6% higher.