A systematic review of immersive virtual reality applications in geography higher education

This systematic review examines the empirical research conducted in the past decade to investigate the application of immersive Virtual Reality (IVR) in geography higher education. Our analysis includes 29 empirical studies published across 25 peer-reviewed articles and delves into IVR applications from four key perspectives: the temporal and spatial distribution of studies and specific devices used, the subdomains of geography in which IVR is applied, the research methodologies employed, and the impact on learning outcomes and experiences. The review highlights the emergence of IVR in geography higher education from 2015. There was a notable surge in studies between 2020 and 2022, predominantly conducted in Europe and the United States. The primary focus of these studies was on topics related to physical geography. Research methodologies are well-balanced among these studies, incorporating a mix of quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods. The majority of these studies reported positive effects on learning outcomes and experiences, although some noted side effects like motion sickness. Future research should integrate reliability, validity, and fairness testing, link to learning theories in instructional design, and explore the application of advanced machine learning or artificial intelligence models.