Effects of Immersive Spherical Video-based Virtual Reality on Cognition and Affect Outcomes of Learning: A Meta-analysis

Abstract

With the advancement of portable head-mounted displays, interest in educational application of immersive spherical video-based virtual reality (SVVR) has been emerging. However, it remains unclear regarding the effects of immersive SVVR on cognitive and affective outcomes. In this study, we retrieved 58 learning outcomes from 16 studies. A meta-analysis was performed using the random effects model to calculate the effect size. Several important moderators were also examined such as control group treatment, learning outcome type, interaction functionality, content instruction, learning domain, and learner’s stage. The results show that immersive SVVR is more effective than other instructional conditions with a medium effect size. The key findings of the moderator analysis are that immersive SVVR has a greater impact on affective outcomes, as well as under the conditions that learning system provides interaction functionality or integrates with content instruction before virtual exploratory learning.