Impacts of Real and Virtual Environments on Construction Safety Knowledge Learning in Virtual Reality Classrooms

Background: As construction safety training increasingly shifts toward virtual reality (VR)-based learning platforms, concerns have emerged regarding whether real ambient and virtual visual conditions may affect safety knowledge learning and cognitive responses; Methods: This study examined how real ambient factors (temperature and sound) and virtual visual factors (window view and visual complexity) influenced perceived environmental distraction, subjective workload, learning experience, and EEG-based cognitive responses in a VR classroom. Forty-eight university students completed a construction safety knowledge learning task and were categorized into high- and low-performing groups based on learning gains. Subjective responses were measured using post-experimental questionnaires, while EEG indicators included mental workload, attention, and mental fatigue. Results: Based on independent-samples t-tests, group-specific Spearman correlations, descriptive analyses, and two-way interaction regression, the results revealed: (1) Low-performing students reported greater disturbance from temperature and sound, and higher mental demand and effort. (2) Nominal associations between environmental factors and subjective outcomes were broader in the low-performing group. (3) The EEG results served mainly as supplementary descriptive evidence, showing individual variability in cognitive responses. (4) Learning scores varied across environmental combinations, with Temperature × Sound emerging as the only significant interaction. Conclusions: These findings guide cognitively supportive VR-based construction safety learning environments.