The evolving landscape of educational technologies has ushered Virtual Reality (VR) in the forefront of higher education. As the COVID-19 pandemic propelled a rapid shift toward e-learning, the demand for high-quality distance education has surged, prompting an exploration of VR as a viable solution. While existing research indicates that VR supports student engagement and learning experiences compared with traditional teaching methods, the lack of shared pedagogical frameworks and systematic analyses of its applications leaves a deeper investigation of VR's potentials and limitations in enhancing learning outcomes still unexplored. This paper presents a systematic literature review aimed at filling this gap by considering studies that evaluate VR-based teaching methods in comparison with traditional ones in higher education contexts in order to assess the strengths and weaknesses of this technology in improving students' learning outcomes and achieve inclusive education. The analysis focuses on a set of dimensions including the adopted research design, participants' characteristics, disciplinary field of application, VR technological features (i.e., immersivity, interactivity, operability, commercial availability, and presence of VR training), adopted teaching methodologies, assessed VR impact on learning outcomes and presence of studies involving students with disabilities or Specific Learning Disorders (SpLDs). Based on inclusion/exclusion criteria, a total of 71 studies of VR in higher education were analysed. Most of analysed studies employed quantitative methods (67%), while no qualitative studies were found. More than half of the studies were conducted with undergraduate students (61%). Most of the studies involved VR in STEM disciplines, with almost half of them concerning Health Sciences (45%). VR solutions were most frequently immersive (63%), predominantly using Oculus Rift and HTC Vive HMDs, interactive (59%), single-user (92%) and non-commercial (57%). Only a small portion of studies included a VR training in the research protocol (8%). Most of the studies compared lecture-based methodologies as control condition with active methodologies in the VR condition. Learning outcomes were positively influenced by immersivity, interactivity and active methodologies, although at different degrees. No study involved students with disabilities or SpLDs in the experimentation. By offering a multidimensional perspective on the application of VR in higher education contexts, the paper provides a valuable resource for educators, researchers, and policymakers navigating the dynamic intersection of VR and higher education.

中文翻译：

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高等教育中的虚拟学习与传统学习：比较研究的系统评价


不断发展的教育技术格局使虚拟现实 （VR） 走在高等教育的前沿。随着 COVID-19 大流行推动了向电子学习的快速转变，对高质量远程教育的需求激增，促使人们探索 VR 作为一种可行的解决方案。虽然现有研究表明，与传统教学方法相比，VR 支持学生参与和学习体验，但缺乏共享的教学框架和对其应用的系统分析，这使得对 VR 在提高学习成果方面的潜力和局限性的更深入研究仍有待探索。本文提出了一个系统的文献综述，旨在通过考虑评估基于 VR 的教学方法与高等教育环境中的传统教学方法进行比较的研究来填补这一空白，以评估该技术在提高学生学习成果和实现包容性教育方面的优势和劣势。分析侧重于一系列维度，包括采用的研究设计、参与者的特征、学科应用领域、VR 技术特征（即沉浸感、交互性、可操作性、商业可用性和 VR 培训的存在）、采用的教学方法、评估 VR 对学习成果的影响以及是否存在涉及残疾或特定学习障碍 （SpLD） 的学生。根据纳入/排除标准，共分析了 71 项高等教育中 VR 的研究。大多数分析研究采用定量方法 （67%），而没有发现定性研究。超过一半的研究是在本科生 （61%） 中进行的。 大多数研究涉及 STEM 学科的 VR，其中近一半 （45%） 与健康科学有关。VR 解决方案通常是沉浸式 （63%），主要使用 Oculus Rift 和 HTC Vive HMD、交互式 （59%）、单用户 （92%） 和非商业 （57%）。只有一小部分研究在研究方案中包括 VR 训练 （8%）。大多数研究将基于讲座的方法作为控制条件与在 VR 条件下的主动方法进行了比较。沉浸感、互动性和主动方法对学习成果产生了积极影响，尽管程度不同。没有研究让残疾学生或 SpLD 参与实验。通过提供 VR 在高等教育环境中应用的多维视角，本文为教育工作者、研究人员和政策制定者提供了宝贵的资源，帮助他们在 VR 和高等教育的动态交叉点中导航。