An empirical study on immersive technology in synchronous hybrid learning in design education

Abstract Immersive technology plays an increasingly important role in design education, supporting digital literacy and experiential learning in higher education, particularly in the post-COVID-19 context. Many design disciplines, such as Architecture and Landscape Design, which used to rely heavily on physical field trips, and dialogic studios as signature pedagogies, had to adapt to the proliferation of innovative educational technologies due to the suspension of face-to-face teaching and learning. Augmented reality and virtual reality are now extensively used in technology and design education to support a more interactive, collaborative, and student-centred approach to learning. This paper expands on a pilot research study on the transition from traditional signature pedagogies of studio-based design education to technology-enhanced collaborative learning to support experiential learning. Based on Kolb’s experiential learning framework concerning four learning modes, namely, concrete experience (CE), reflective observation (RO), abstract conceptualisation (AC), and active experimentation (AE), this paper analyses data from 75 undergraduate students across four cohorts in three different higher education institutions in Hong Kong. They were surveyed on their experiences of synchronous hybrid virtual experiential learning with design and technology curricula. Furthermore, six students were interviewed about their experiences. The research findings confirm two research hypotheses showing that immersive experiential learning could constructively align RO and AE, thus bringing an overall positive impact on the experiential learning process, but shows no conclusive influence on promoting CE, especially AC. The quantitative findings and qualitative results gave new insights into the discussion of the theoretical and practical implications of the study.