Unlocking the Educational Opportunities of Immersive Learning Environments: Towards a Meta-Reality Pedagogy
摘要
This paper introduces a road map towards critically examining and implementing opportunities brought by immersive learning environments in higher education using a new framework: Meta-Reality Pedagogy. As VR, AR, MR, and adaptive AI technologies reshape pedagogical landscapes, their potential to enhance student engagement, knowledge retention, and interpretative meaning-making is increasingly recognised. However, the integration of these technologies into learning design strategies presents challenges related to interpretative narrative, systemic accessibility and the role and purpose of human-led teaching and learning. Through the combined lenses of Causal Layered Analysis (CLA), constructivist approaches to learning and hermeneutics, this study explores ways in which immersive learning environments can positively influence educator-led learning experiences, student agency, and critical engagement with dynamically generated content. The study highlights key considerations for the future of immersive technology in education, including the role of educators, how students learn and make meaning and how to foster multi-perspective collaboration to make immersive learning more scalable and inclusive. Through this investigation, the paper aims to contribute to the discourse on immersive learning by presenting a pedagogical framework that is both innovative and theoretically rigorous, emphasising meaning-making, accessibility, student agency, and the evolving role of immersive experiences in higher education.