Effects of desktop virtual reality on woodworking theory learning in higher art education

In Chinese art colleges, woodworking courses traditionally emphasize hands-on skills, often at the expense of theoretical instruction. This imbalance hinders students’ foundational understanding, especially in areas such as material properties, tool knowledge, and safety protocols. To address this gap, this study investigates the use of desktop virtual reality (DVR) as an instructional tool for delivering woodworking theory content. A total of 60 sophomore arts and crafts majors were assigned to either a DVR based learning group or a traditional lecture-based control group. Both groups were taught five core theoretical areas: the history of woodworking, wood types, tool functionality, safety, and case appreciation. Post-intervention assessments measured theoretical knowledge, cognitive load, and learning interest. The findings reveal that the DVR group significantly outperformed the control group in theoretical knowledge acquisition (M = 65.17 vs. 48.50, p < 0.05) and reported significantly higher cognitive load scores (M = 50.60 vs. 44.57 p < 0.05). No significant difference was found in learning interest between the two groups (p > 0.05). These findings suggest that desktop VR enhances conceptual understanding in woodworking theory, although it may increase learners’ cognitive processing requirements. The study contributes empirical evidence to research grounded in Cognitive Load Theory and highlights the pedagogical potential of semi-immersive VR systems in resource-constrained art and vocational education contexts.