Immersive VR learning environments: Effects of coherence formation and environmental details

• Applicant: Dr. Christian Hartmann
• Subject Area: General and Domain-Specific Teaching and Learning ; Developmental and Educational Psychology
• Term: from 2023 to 2025
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 518077247

• Final Report Year: 2025

Final Report Abstract

Immersive Virtual Reality (IVR) allows learners to experience digital environments with a high degree of realism. While IVR is often considered promising for learning environments that require the development of complex cognitive skills, its effectiveness in supporting the processing of verbal information in authentic contexts remains uncertain. Previous research has produced mixed results, with some studies reporting learning benefits, while others have found no effects or evidence of learner overload. This inconsistency reveals a crucial research gap, particularly in understanding how the coherence between verbal content and immersive environmental details influences learning processes. The "IVEKU" project addressed this gap by investigating whether and how the congruence or coherence between verbal learning materials and spatial-situational environmental elements within an IVR setting affects cognitive processing (including cognitive load), perception of spatial presence, knowledge acquisition, and learner motivation. In addition, eye-tracking data were used as a process indicator of coherence building, and learners' visuospatial skills were examined as a moderating factor in the effectiveness of IVR-based learning. The core of the project was a two-factorial laboratory experiment with 77 students, complemented by process analyses. The environmental details of an IVR environment were presented either as an immersive 360° scene or as a 2D image in a neutral "white room" 360° VR environment. Both conditions were based on a virtual reconstruction of the Sistine Chapel into which text fields were integrated to deliver the learning content. The coherence between the learning material and the environment was manipulated within subjects: all participants experienced both a coherent scenario (with texts related to structural details of the chapel) and an incoherent scenario (with texts focused on image interpretation, unrelated to environmental details). Contrary to our hypotheses, the results showed that learners performed better with incoherent learning materials. Environmental details did not distract learners as hypothesized. These findings challenge established theories of immersive learning and highlight the need for further research on attentional regulation specific to IVR, with the ultimate goal of setting new benchmarks in immersive learning research.

Link to the final report

https://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.16499

Publications

• Eye-tracking-based process mining for adaptive discovery learning in the context of immersive VF environments. Invited presentation at the Symposium „Enhancing Digital Education: Bridging Discovery and Direct Instruction” (Pädagogische Hochschule Freiburg)
  Hartmann, C., Kosel, C. & Bannert, M.
  
• Immersive Virtual Reality: How does environmental detail and its coherence with embedded text affect learning?. Center for Open Science.
  Hartmann, Christian; Kosel, Christian; Wolf, Annabel & Bannert, Maria
  
• Immersive VR learning environments: Coherence formation and effects of environmental details. Poster presented at the EARLI SIG 6 & 7 Conference, Tübingen, Germany, August 21-23, 2024
  Hartmann, C., Kosel, C. & Bannert, M.
  
• Immersive VR learning environments: Effects environmental details, coherence Formation and spatial abilities. Eingeladener Vortrag in dem Fachkolloquium von Prof. Dr. Maria Bannert (Technische Universität München)
  Hartmann, C.
  
• Immersive VR learning environments: Effects of coherence formation and environmental details [Preregistered report]
  Hartmann, C.
  
• Immersive VR-Lernumgebungen: Effekte von Umgebungsdetails und Kohärenzbildung. Vortrag auf dem 53. DGPs-Kongress / 15. ÖGP-Konferenz 2024, Wien, Österreich, September 18, 2024
  Hartmann, C., Kosel, C. & Bannert, M.
  
• Unveiling coherence formation: A process mining approach using eye-tracking to investigate immersive multimedia learning in virtual reality. Eingeladener Vortrag in dem Fachkolloquium von Prof. Dr. Tina Seufert (Universität Ulm)
  Hartmann, C.
  
• How do learners form coherence between environmental details and verbal information in virtual reality environments?," Conference paper to be presented at the 2025 AERA Annual Meeting, Denver (USA)
  Hartmann, C., Kosel, C., Seidel, T. & Bannert, M.