Experiential Learning and Empathy in Extended Reality for Teaching Protection of Civilians

The research and development project Military Education in Extended Reality (XR) focuses on novel ways of teaching protection of civilians to military officers. The target group is postgraduate military officers from all branches of the armed forces involved in planning and assessing joint military operations. The holistic design of the learning experience consists of five steps, including three applications in XR: combined embodiment/360° videos, avatar dialogue, and a collaborative virtual map activity. The goal of the XR tools is to trigger an empathetic presence and foster logical reasoning and analytical skills. The XR sessions are supplemented with traditional lectures, peer-to-peer discussions, and a debriefing session. A pilot study in 2022 captured data from a wide range of sources, including self-reporting surveys, physiological data, and visual observations. This article leans on data captured during observation notes and focus group discussions in the aftermath of the study that were videotaped and analyzed thematically. The qualitative pilot study aims to discover if the overarching educational design enhances student engagement with the topic of protection of civilians and offers an alternative approach to teaching it by provoking empathy in XR.