Immersive technologies are rarely adopted in robotics GBL/gamification but studies using them report heightened engagement, improved spatial reasoning, and enhanced perceived realism¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · quant-synthesis r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2026 · checked against its sources 2026-10-20 (automated, 2 of 2 entries) · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Immersion use was similar across approaches (about 20–24% of studies) and rarely included haptics, despite studies reporting positive engagement and performance outcomes. → Syed Tanzim Mubarrat 2026 q2 i? Studies incorporating immersive technologies consistently reported positive outcomes, including high ratings for VR-based assembly instruction and performance gains for VR and AR conditions. → Syed Tanzim Mubarrat 2026 (2)

Evidence¶

Syed Tanzim Mubarrat 2026¶

Syed Tanzim Mubarrat, Byung-Cheol Min, Tianyu Shao, E. Cho Smith, Bedrich Benes, Alejandra J. Magana, Christos Mousas, and Dominic Kao. (2026). Game-Based and Gamified Robotics Education: A Comparative Systematic Review and Design Guidelines. Proceedings of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '26). https://doi.org/10.1145/3772318.3791338

q2 · i? · quant-synthesis · r2

2×2 comparison of any-immersion use by approach across the 95 studies, reported in Results §4.1.4 with "𝜒 2(1)= 0.20, 𝑝= 0.658"; the review calls the OR ≈ 1.26 tendency small and non-significant.

"Immersion was similar across approaches ( 𝜒 2(1)= 0.20, 𝑝= 0.658; Cramér’s 𝑉≈ 0.00). In gamified studies, 23.53% used immersive technology (VR/haptics/both; 95% CI [12.44%, 40.00%]) versus 19.67% in GBL"

Syed Tanzim Mubarrat 2026 (2)¶

Syed Tanzim Mubarrat, Byung-Cheol Min, Tianyu Shao, E. Cho Smith, Bedrich Benes, Alejandra J. Magana, Christos Mousas, and Dominic Kao. (2026). Game-Based and Gamified Robotics Education: A Comparative Systematic Review and Design Guidelines. Proceedings of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '26). https://doi.org/10.1145/3772318.3791338

q2 · i? · quant-synthesis · r2

Narrative synthesis of immersive-technology studies in Results §4.2.6, including a first-year robotic assembly course where "85.00% of students" rated head-mounted VR effective; VR groups also completed tasks with fewer trajectory errors and an AR course achieved higher skill-completion rates.

"head-mounted VR provided novices with “hands-on” assembly experiences rated as effective by 85.00% of students, engaging by 90.00%, and motivating by 80.00% [ 134]"

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Spatial Ability — outcome: instruction changes it

Related Claims¶

• Increased perceptual fidelity fails to reliably improve serious game learning outcomes (the fidelity fallacy) — the general claim this finding bears on, with the studies behind it
• GBL and gamified approaches show comparable rates of quantifiable learning gains and affective outcomes in robotics education — related
• Gamified robotics studies skew toward higher programming/software development skill tiers than GBL studies — related
• Conventional training received significantly higher ratings for perceived realism and immersion than VR-based training (r=0.774) — reports the opposite
• The review reports that real-world experiential simulations offer affordances beyond virtual-only formats, including heightened presence through embodiment, place, and face-to-face social immersion — related
• Immersive technologies such as virtual reality should reinforce, not substitute, the original educational action — related
• Immersive media environments enable higher visual and behavioral realism of pedagogical agents than non-immersive formats — related
• Proportions of significant CT gains vary by instructional approach, but approach alone does not determine effectiveness — related
• Non-immersive devices, especially smartphone/tablet-based AR, dominated VR/AR-supported K-12 STEM studies; immersive AR was rarely used — related
• Review syntheses: VR/AR most often improved academic achievement and motivation, but sometimes performed no better than conventional technologies — related
• Higher levels of technology support during simulation are associated with greater effects on learning outcomes — related
• Simulation games were the most-used game type for educational assessment (N = 7, 33%), followed by immersive (N = 6, 29%) and video games (N = 5, 24%) — related
• Formal learning context is a significant positive predictor of whether a robotics study reports quantifiable learning gains — related