Immersive learning: essential research and resources
A guided pathway through foundational and current evidence on immersive and extended-reality learning.
This reading list is curated for educators, school leaders, MOE colleagues and research partners. It is selective rather than exhaustive. Begin with the first two items for orientation, then follow the items most relevant to your question.
Makransky, G., & Petersen, G. B. (2021). Cognitive Affective Model of Immersive Learning.
A research-based model explaining how presence and agency may influence learning through cognitive and affective processes, while also creating possible cognitive burden.
Hamilton, D., et al. (2024). Systematic review of immersive VR effectiveness.
Synthesises findings concerning when immersive VR appears useful for knowledge and skills. Helpful for comparing learning goals and media affordances.
Lawson, A. P., et al. (2024). Review of controlled media-comparison studies.
Important methodological caution: studies may confound immersion with differences in content, guidance or activity.
Wang, Q., & Li, Y. (2024). Systematic review of VR, AR and MR in teacher education.
Useful for understanding applications to procedural knowledge, classroom management and teacher preparation.
Paulsen, L., Dau, S., & Davidsen, J. (2024). Collaborative learning in immersive VR.
Focuses on design considerations for collaboration rather than individual immersion alone.
Sakr, M., & Abdullah, T. (2024). Systematic review of VR, AR and learning analytics.
Provides a broad view of learner and educator outcomes and the intersection between immersive technologies and data.
How to read this evidence
Check the learner age, domain and setting before transferring a finding.
Distinguish technology or environmental features from the pedagogy used with them.
Look for comparison conditions, implementation duration and outcome measures.
Treat engagement and satisfaction as useful but insufficient evidence of learning.
Use the evidence to frame questions and pilots, not to assume that one design will work everywhere.