Abstract:

The rapid development of immersive technologies has generated growing interest in the educational potential of virtual reality (VR), particularly in science and mathematics education where abstract concepts and complex phenomena often challenge students’ understanding. Research on immersive learning suggests that VR environments can support spatial cognition and conceptual understanding by enabling students to interact with processes and structures that are difficult or impossible to observe in traditional classroom settings. Despite the increasing availability of VR applications, their meaningful integration into school practice remains limited. Teachers’ perceptions, pedagogical readiness, and their evaluation of the instructional value of the technology play a central role in determining whether such innovations are adopted in educational contexts. This study examines teachers’ perceptions of the use of VR in teaching and learning and explores how teachers evaluate the pedagogical advantages and challenges of VR educational applications in science and mathematics instruction. The research was conducted within a professional development course offered as part of a master’s degree program focusing on virtual reality in education. The course utilized Oculus Quest 2 and Oculus Quest 3 headsets and included three stages: an introduction to the development of VR technology, exposure to educational VR applications designed for science and mathematics learning, and a pedagogical analysis stage in which teachers evaluated these applications in terms of their instructional value and suitability for integration into upper secondary classrooms. Participants included 63 science and mathematics teachers with varying levels of teaching experience. A qualitative research approach was employed to enable an in-depth exploration of teachers’ perceptions and their pedagogical analyses of VR applications. The findings indicate that most teachers hold positive perceptions regarding the integration of VR technologies in science and mathematics teaching. Approximately 68% of participants supported the use of VR, emphasizing its potential to enhance cognitive learning processes. Teachers highlighted advantages such as improved spatial visualization of complex scientific structures, the ability to observe phenomena in immersive three-dimensional environments, and opportunities to conduct virtual laboratory experiments when physical laboratory resources are limited. Immersive environments were also perceived as increasing students’ engagement, curiosity, and motivation, while supporting differentiated learning in heterogeneous classrooms. At the same time, 56% of teachers identified challenges related to implementing VR technologies in schools. These included technological limitations, high equipment costs, limited availability of VR devices, insufficient teacher training, and systemic constraints such as large class sizes and limited institutional infrastructure. Overall, despite these challenges, teachers emphasized that the pedagogical benefits of VR outweigh its limitations. The findings suggest that immersive technologies have considerable potential to enrich science and mathematics learning when supported by appropriate infrastructure, teacher training, and institutional support.

Keywords:

Virtual reality, immersive learning, science and mathematics education, teachers’ perceptions, educational technology integration.