
Student engagement is a vital component of effective education. While curriculums, subjects, and topics may vary globally, engagement remains a cornerstone of learning everywhere. However, keeping students engaged has become more challenging than ever. As part of the ‘Digital Generation,’ today’s learners are constantly exposed to advancing technology and digital media, making it difficult for traditional classroom methods to compete for attention.
In a world where attention spans are shrinking, students now expect captivating and dynamic experiences, and educators face an uphill battle in capturing and maintaining their interest. Many students have the internet, social media, and other digital platforms at their fingertips, and most are engaging with these multiple times a day. The expanding gap between classroom teaching and expectations from students has driven the search for new, innovative solutions to foster deeper engagement.
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The Challenges of Low Engagement

Low student engagement is a significant challenge in education, with far-reaching impacts on learning outcomes and school environments. Research shows that disengaged students are more prone to disruptive behaviors, whereas increased engagement helps to reduce behavior-related incidents and create calmer, more productive classroom atmospheres.
Student engagement levels also have a direct influence on school attendance. Engaged students are less likely to miss school and are more committed to completing their work. On the other hand, disengaged students are at higher risk of absenteeism, dropping out, or failing to complete their studies. In the US, just 47% of students report feeling engaged in school3, a concerning statistic as disengaged students are 4.5 times more likely to feel hopeless about their future and are less likely to succeed academically.
The Gradient Learning Poll underscores the importance of student engagement, revealing that 50% of students feel disconnected from their learning, and 80% of teachers worry about their students’ ability to stay engaged. Traditional learning methods are failing to capture the attention of the digital generation, with 52% of US students reporting disengagement during lectures, and 48% feeling disengaged during worksheet-based tasks. In contrast, 83% of US students prefer learning through discussions, projects, and hands-on activities, suggesting that conventional methods may not align with the needs of today’s learners.
Schools that achieve high engagement levels see significantly more students meeting or exceeding proficiency standards. In the US, technology plays a critical role in engagement, with 66% of students believing it helps them stay interested in their studies. These statistics demonstrate the importance of creating interactive and relevant learning experiences to enhance both academic outcomes and overall student well-being.
Enhancing Engagement with VR/AR

To effectively boost and sustain student engagement, providing educators with innovative teaching tools and strategies is essential. VR/AR is revolutionizing education across the globe, leading the way in creating engaging and interactive environments where students can reach their full academic and social potential.
VR immerses students into simulated 360-degree experiences, enabling them to explore scenarios previously beyond their reach, such as navigating outer space or experiencing historical events firsthand. This immersive interaction makes complex subjects more accessible and captivating, which in turn keeps students engaged in the curriculum. AR helps educators enhance traditional learning materials by overlaying interactive digital elements in the real world. With AR, students can interact with 3D models and videos, improving their ability to visualize and understand abstract concepts.
VR/AR aligns closely with Experiential Learning Theory, which suggests that learning is most effective when it involves direct experience and reflection. By providing immersive, hands-on learning experiences, VR/AR engages multiple senses, captures attention, and encourages exploration and reflection. Direct interaction with subject topics helps students to better understand and retain information, leading to more impactful learning and improved educational outcomes.
VR/AR serves as a versatile tool in addressing the challenges of disengagement. By implementing VR/AR into their classrooms, educators can create more stimulating and engaging learning experiences. This not only fosters a deeper connection to curriculum material but also enhances overall student engagement.
What Does the Research Say?

VR/AR has the potential to transform how students across the globe engage with learning material and retain knowledge. Research indicates that these immersive technologies are significantly more effective than traditional methods at capturing attention and strengthening learning outcomes, something which is especially important when looking to engage the digital generation.
A study by the National Training Laboratory found that retention rates for VR learning far exceed traditional methods, with VR achieving a 75% retention rate, compared to just 10% for reading-based learning and 5% for lecture-style learning. This significant difference underscores the power of VR/AR in transforming learning experiences. VR/AR allows students to become active participants in their own learning, fostering deeper cognitive engagement and enhancing knowledge retention. A meta-analysis of VR/AR implementations in education further supports this, showing that immersive experiences can improve academic performance by up to 30%.
The interactive nature of VR/AR promotes hands-on learning, allowing students to engage directly with topics and subject material. This immersive approach is proven to enhance problem-solving skills, enabling students to tackle complex or risky scenarios, such as conducting chemical experiments or experiencing extreme weather conditions, in a controlled, risk-free environment. By safely replicating real-world challenges, VR/AR helps students to develop a deeper understanding of abstract concepts.
Research from PwC reveals that VR/AR learners learn four times faster and maintain four times more focus than their traditionally taught counterparts. This increased focus improves learning outcomes, as students are more engaged in the material. VR/AR evokes emotion through its immersive scenarios and storytelling, which is proven to make information more memorable. Emotional experiences are closely tied to memory formation, meaning that VR/AR’s ability to create engaging, emotional content enhances knowledge retention across the curriculum, even in subjects that may not be as traditionally captivating.
How Are Schools Using VR/AR?

Schools all over the world are increasingly leveraging VR/AR to enhance student engagement, transform learning experiences, and improve educational outcomes.
Sioux Central Community School District, Iowa, has seen drastically increased levels of student engagement since introducing VR/AR technology. Using ClassVR, students have virtually experienced exoplanets, witnessed an asteroid strike, landed on the moon, and toured the International Space Station. When delivering immersive VR/AR experiences, teachers have noted that students are fully immersed and attentive, with VR/AR lessons capturing their complete focus.
“The biggest impact for our students is the engagement. There’s 100% immersion when the kids are involved,” says Troy Thams, K-12 Technology Instructor. “We recently learnt about dinosaurs, and using ClassVR, the students got to be a T-Rex! The kids walk away with more knowledge and understanding about a topic than they would have from watching a video or reading about it in a textbook.”
Montgomery Public Schools, Alabama, has also elevated student engagement and motivation using VR/AR. At Dalraida Elementary School, ClassVR has enabled students to experience interactive lessons on severe weather and biological structures, captivating their attention and deepening their understanding of the curriculum.
Jennifer Noah, STEM Facilitator, was particularly impressed with the engagement VR/AR fosters, saying: “One of our standards is teaching about severe weather. So, we used ClassVR to take students inside a tornado. They were able to see the inside and the debris that was surrounding them. That engagement is just amazing to watch, and it made learning so much more authentic.”
In the era of digital distractions, the challenge of capturing and maintaining student engagement has never been greater. Traditional teaching methods can often struggle to compete with smartphones and social media. However, VR/AR offers a promising solution. By providing immersive and interactive experiences, VR/AR captures attention and enhances understanding, bridging the gap between students’ digital expectations and the essential content in school curriculums. As schools across the globe continue to explore and implement these innovative technologies, they create the pathway for more engaging and effective educational experiences, ensuring that learning remains both relevant and impactful in the digital age.