Understanding and managing the complexities in situated learning in immersive virtual environments

Abstract Situated learning has been widely promoted in educational practice, where students are encouraged to learn by exploring real-world problems in authentic contexts. To expand the opportunities for situated learning, immersive virtual environments have been explored by presenting problem contexts in vivid and interactive formats and enabling a variety of exploration activities. However, there are multiple challenges surrounding situated learning. The challenges can be caused by the complexities of real-world problems, the complexities in exploring real-world problems, and the complexities in reflecting on the exploration experience. This paper presents a conceptual framework outlining three types of complexities surrounding situated learning and six strategies for coping with these complexities. A case of situated learning curriculum in an immersive virtual environment is used to illustrate how the framework works in practice. By presenting a high-level and holistic picture of the challenges in situated learning along with the coping strategies, the proposed framework enriches the understanding of situated learning. It can serve as a guide for designing situated learning curricula, evaluating situated learning practices, and addressing situated learning challenges.