Who benefits and who doesn't in virtual reality learning: An experimental study comparing two types of school

Introduction: Media comparison studies examining the effectiveness of immersive virtual reality in education have yielded inconclusive findings, leaving the question of its impact on learning compared to traditional educational settings unanswered. To address this issue, our study employs a novel approach that combines media comparison with an investigation on the influence of learner characteristics and broader educational context. Methods: In the experiment, 262 students from two distinct types of lower secondary schools—comprehensive school and multi-year gymnasium (a selective academic school)—participated. The students received a lesson on topography and contour line interpretation, using either an immersive virtual environment or a PowerPoint slideshow. A transfer test was carried out before, immediately after, and one month after the lesson to measure knowledge application. Results: The impact of the learning environment (immersive virtual reality vs. PowerPoint slideshow) on learning outcomes was found to be minimal, with no clear advantage of one over the other in any experimental condition. In contrast, a significant influence on learning gains was observed due to school type. Multi-year gymnasium students consistently outperformed comprehensive school students in the pre-test and demonstrated greater learning gains, regardless of the learning environment. Conclusion: The present study employs an innovative approach by integrating a comparative analysis of different media types with an investigation into the impact of learner characteristics. By including students from distinct types of schools, the study provides insights into the differential effects of immersive virtual reality in varied educational contexts.