Panel Session – Leveraging Academic Research with Virtual Reality to Solve Problems of Practice: A Panel Discussion with the XR Education Design Lab

Abstract

This panel addresses persistent challenges in implementing virtual reality (VR) for education through a practice-oriented research approach positioning educators as co-designers rather than end-users. While VR hardware has become more accessible, significant gaps remain: limited content beyond science and medicine, conflicting evidence about structured versus exploratory learning design, and research examining technical affordances without pedagogical grounding or sustained classroom integration. These challenges create a research-practice gap where VR remains a technology requiring validation rather than a pedagogical tool designed to enhance learning outcomes. Our lab tackles these issues through participatory design partnerships with educators, focusing on pedagogical questions that matter to practitioners: How does VR support specific learning goals? Which instructional strategies make it effective? How can educators meaningfully facilitate VR-enhanced learning? We also develop novel assessment measures capturing complex competencies beyond content retention, including metacognition and problem-solving strategies. In this panel, academic researchers and educational practitioners present four projects from our lab as case studies, followed by a cross-project discussion and audience engagement, we surface lessons about cultivating practitioner partnerships and improving educational VR implementation in authentic classroom contexts.