Exploring Engineering Student's Self-Regulatory Strategies in Collaborative Virtual Reality Learning Environments: Preliminary Findings from a Land-Surveying Task

This work-in-progress research study explores students' self-regulated learning (SRL) strategies within collaborative virtual reality (VR) environments in engineering education. Through thematic analysis of responses from twenty-seven (27) second-year civil engineering students engaged in VR-based land surveying activities, key themes emerged related to goal setting, environmental structuring, help-seeking, task strategies, and self-evaluation. Students with high SRL scores demonstrated greater use of task strategies and self-evaluation techniques, while those with low SRL scores relied more on environmental structuring. The findings underscore the importance of tailoring VR learning experiences to students' individual SRL abilities and integrating features that promote social interaction to enhance collaborative learning and engagement. Future research will explore larger sample sizes and examine the relationship between SRL strategies and learning outcomes in VR environments.