Examining the effect of immersive virtual reality on 11th-grade students’ creative thinking disposition and academic achievement

This study investigated the effect of immersive virtual reality (VR) on 11th-grade students’ creative thinking disposition (CTD) and academic achievement in chemistry. A quasi-experimental pretest–posttest non-equivalent control group design was employed, involving 86 students (36 males and 50 females) aged 16–18 years from a public senior high school in Indonesia. Students were assigned to either an experimental group (n = 43) or a control group (n = 43) based on intact classes. The experimental group learned the chemical reaction rates topic using VR technology, whereas the control group received instruction through PhET simulations and videos. Data were collected using a CTD questionnaire and an academic achievement test, and analyzed using an independent samples t-test. The results revealed a statistically significant difference (p < 0.05) between the experimental and control groups, with the experimental group demonstrating higher CTD (d = 1.48) and academic achievement (d = 1.15). Both outcomes showed large effect sizes, suggesting that VR had a substantial impact compared to conventional methods. It can be concluded that immersive VR is promising in fostering students’ creative thinking and learning achievement. These findings highlight the potential of VR to enhance students’ creativity and improve their academic performance in chemistry learning. Consequently, educators are encouraged to integrate VR into chemistry instruction to promote higher-order thinking skills and improve learning outcomes.