Ease over effort: achieving consistent learning outcomes through a more relaxed approach in immersive virtual reality for hands-on education
Xinyan Wang, Yen Hsu, Rui Xu, Zengqiang Zhang, Fan Dawei · Interactive Learning Environments · 2025
As physical activity can significantly enhance learning in virtual reality (VR) environments, we hypothesize that in hands-on courses, where tasks require both cognitive and physical efforts, the effective design of embodied interactions may also improve students' learning outcomes. This study compares desktop virtual reality (DVR) and immersive virtual reality (IVR), examining the effects of a sense of embodiment on learning outcomes, learning experiences and cognitive load during skill acquisition. The findings confirm that IVR environments significantly increased students' sense of embodiment during the learning process. Although this increased embodiment did not result in a significant difference between IVR and DVR in terms of enhancing learning outcomes, a significant reduction in students' cognitive load was observed in IVR. IVR environments with limited textual content and consistent alignment between gestures and learning materials may influence cognitive load. Based on these findings, it is proposed that IVR can help students achieve learning outcomes comparable to those in DVR, but with reduced cognitive load, particularly in hands-on courses.