A study of nearly 300 secondary school students found that the use of immersive virtual reality (IVR) can increase student interest and engagement in learning, but when used alone, it does not improve outcomes. The findings of the study were shared in a paper published in the Journal of Educational Psychology by Guido Makranski of the University of Copenhagen, Niels K. Andreessen and Srevin Baishevshaev of the University of California, and Richard E. Mayer of the University of California, Berkeley.

The Influence of Virtual Reality in the Classroom

The study consisted of two experiments in which students participated. The first experiment involved 131 students, who were allocated to one of two groups: The first group used a VR headset to experience a science simulation in which data were collected in a virtual laboratory environment. Forensic analysis of the NA sample was included and the other group watched a video instead, which presented the same forensic analysis procedure.

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Both groups were tested directly after the lesson. The test included tests of declarative and procedural knowledge, as well as checking students' reported interest and attendance. The declarative knowledge test consisted of 19 multiple-choice questions and consisted of conceptual and factual knowledge questions related to information presented in a simulation or video. 

The procedural knowledge test consisted of three questions (e.g., ``Describe in steps how to use a pipette to prepare laboratory samples. Mention as many steps as possible.'') Test results showed that students who participated in the IVR activity reported having more fun than those who watched the video. The IVR activity had no significant impact on students learning of forensic analysis skills.

Use of IVR with other activities

To further explore the impact of IVR on learning, a second experiment was conducted with 156 students. Researchers call this 'generative learning activity'. The generative learning activity in this case was an implementation activity, involving the use of physical props to recreate the laboratory analysis that the students had just learned about. 

The authors wrote, "The primary goal of incorporating creative learning strategies into a lesson is to encourage learners to reflect on and integrate prior knowledge with the learning content, thereby allowing the learner to form a more meaningful mental representation of the content." While fostering immersion is important, ensuring space for reflection and self-regulation within the experience is critical for deeper learning.

Students were randomly allocated to one of four groups for this experiment, i.e., using IVR; attending legislative hearings and using IVR; watching videos; and watching a video before participating in a legislative opportunity. After participating in the learning activity, students completed a posttest similar to the one used in the first experiment. 

The results of this test showed that (as in the first experiment), self-enjoyment and activity presence were higher for students using IVR. Although adding a legislative activity did not improve declarative knowledge, it was found that participation in a legislative activity had a greater effect on learning from IVR than from video on procedural knowledge. "This is a major new finding in this experiment and indicates that procedural knowledge can be improved when learning through IVR alone," the authors say.

Improving Outcomes with Virtual Reality

IVR can provide students with a very emotional learning experience. It almost always increases student interest and enjoyment, but it doesn't necessarily lead to better learning outcomes unless students have an opportunity to reflect on an emotionally rich and interesting experience.

Makransky says, “The overall implications are that teachers should provide students with early learning experiences and sufficient prior knowledge so that students have basic knowledge and sufficient familiarity with the technology prior to an IVR lesson. Then use IVR to explore opportunities where students can have learning experiences that would be too expensive, risky, or impossible in the real world. Then follow it up with a reflection activity. It does not necessarily have to be legislation.”