Abstract

This literature review combines findings from approximately 40 academic papers on virtual reality in education for readers to gain a broad, structured, and organized understanding of the topic without having to read each of the 40 papers. While researchers define VR in slightly different ways, most definitions focus on VR's ability to create digital simulations of real or imagined environments (Makransky & Lilleholt, 2018). The review is organized around nine themes: conceptualization of VR, pedagogical foundations, instructional design, learning outcomes, learner experience, disciplinary applications, technological constraints, ethics and inclusion, and emerging trends. The findings suggest that VR shows the most consistent benefits in STEM fields such as mathematics, geography, biology, and medicine, while evidence in humanities and language learning remains limited. VR has some benefits in education, but there is still a long way to go before it becomes a tool that is more effective than the traditional study methods in the long run. Key gaps identified in the literature include the almost nonexistent long-term retention testing, difficulties in institutional adoption, limited teacher readiness, and issues around gender and age differences in VR learning experiences. This review is intended for educators, researchers, and anyone interested in VR who would benefit from a concise synthesis of what the current literature says about its role in education.

Advisor

John Burke

Committee Member

Flint Million

Committee Member

Rajeev Bukralia

Date of Degree

2026

Language

english

Document Type

APP

Degree

Master of Science (MS)

Program of Study

Information Technology

Department

Computer Information Science

College

Science, Engineering and Technology

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In Copyright