The Effect of Immersive Reality on Science Learning: A Meta-Analysis

Abstract

The study aims to investigate the effects of immersive reality applications on students' science achievement. For this purpose, 1,323 articles reporting the effects of immersive reality applications on students' science achievement were examined. The following databases were searched for articles: National Thesis Center, Google scholar, Scopus, ProQuest, SAGE Journals Online, Tylor & Francis, ScienceDirect, and Turkish academic database. 32 effect size values from 23 studies that fit the including criteria determined before the study were included in the meta-analysis. The meta-analysis revealed that the immersive reality applications have a statistically significant effect (Hedge's g = 0.89) on science achievement based on the random effect model. In addition, distribution of the effect sizes was heterogeneous (Q = 300.86, p = 0.000). Therefore, the effects of immersive reality application on achievement within different subgroups were also examined. The subgroups were defined by (i) grade levels in which the studies conducted, (ii) academic discipline in which the study took place, (iii) immersive reality application types, and (iv) location where the study was conducted (in or out of Turkey). Statistical significance between group effect was only observed between the groups defined by the place of study conducted (in vs out of Turkey).