Tracing the evolution of research and future prospects of metaverse in teaching and learning

Digital technologies have brought a paradigm shift in education, teaching, and learning practices. The most recent form of technology that has grabbed the attention of the entire world is the Metaverse. Its usage has been extended and explored in multiple domains, such as medicine, entertainment, tourism, and education. The objective of the study is to map the evolution of literature in the domain of Metaverse and teaching and learning via bibliometric analysis and a case-based approach. The metaverse domain is expanding rapidly; therefore, understanding renewed developments is essential to foresee and predict future trends. The data was retrieved from Scopus, consisting of 291 articles from 168 journals from 1999 to October 2024. Bibliometric analysis was used to review the extant literature on the Metaverse and teaching-learning. Three key themes were identified: Virtual Reality (VR) in education, augmented Reality (AR) in teaching-learning, and leveraging immersive technologies: Empirical evidence and rationale. The first two themes revolve around using VR and AR in teaching and learning. However, the third cluster covers the articles that discuss empirical evidence and rationale for using various immersive technologies in teaching-learning. The empirical evidence from past studies has also demonstrated that immersive technologies can enhance interest and varied skills in students. The key themes present an overview of the Metaverse in teaching-learning and can be used by teachers, academic administrators, policymakers, and technologists to further add to this research domain. The result of the case study showed that faculty uphold the role of Metaverse in enhancing interactions and learning. However, smooth transition into Metaverse-led learning environments requires reforms in technologies that ensures inclusivity, and capacity building for faculty. The study also adopted the Situation-Actor-Process (SAP)-Learning-Action-Performance (LAP) method to discuss the Metaverse implementation barriers. Besides infrastructural, cost and technological barriers, the pedagogical and security barriers should be also considered. The study highlights the need for strategic resource allocation to develop metaverse infrastructure. The study has implications for curriculum designers who want to incorporate metaverse-based tools.