Understanding nature through digital technologies: a systematic review of virtual learning of environmental content in geography

Abstract

The use of virtual reality (VR) technologies in education is a significant tendency in modern teaching practice. Despite the fact that VR has not been adopted in the Kazakhstani education system extensively, it is used more and more, especially in geography education. The systematic review is a synthesis of all available studies on VR application in geography instruction, specifically focusing on the environmental subject matter and natural resources management in recent times (2019-2024). After the PRISMA methodology and using the Scopus database, 33 relevant studies were found and examined. The originality of this review is its pedagogical and methodological orientation towards immersive technologies: a field that has not been integratively examined very much. The results indicate that the literature has major gaps, such as the lack of theory-based pedagogical models, inadequate focus on ethical and infrastructural complications, and a lack of evidence as to the long-term learning outcomes. The paper postulates a research agenda and an integrative conceptual framework about the connection between immersive learning environments and cognitive growth, environmental awareness, and spatial thinking. The findings are supposed to help teachers, decision-makers, and schools to integrate the use of VR technologies in a systematic and pedagogically well-grounded manner.

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