Special Session—What Needs to Change in Research on XR in Environmental Education? An Interdisciplinary Panel and Community Discussion Session

Abstract

XR technology is increasingly being used in environmental, sustainability, and nature education, promising immersion, agency and engagement for learners. Applications of XR in the field have used many different technologies, approaches, and methods and have provided a number of outcomes concerning knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. However, in a systematic review of the field, identifying the characteristics of the research studies, many gaps were found. This participatory special session at iLRN2025 combines a panel and community discussion session in order to discuss these review results, including the state of the art of the research field, gaps in the field, and potential ways to address them in future research, development, and on a policy level. To start the discussion through a panel discussion, researchers from the iLRN community who were involved in the systematic review and do relevant research and application in the field will be invited to participate. In the next step, the discussion will be given over to the community, to hear more voices and perspectives on the issues. In the final outcome of the session, the participants will come together to collect questions for research on XR-based environmental education, leading to the co-creation of a foundation for future studies, developments and applications.