Fostering Sustainable Living Awareness in Gifted Students with Immersive Virtual Reality

Abstract

Gifted students possess the potential to make innovative contributions to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) due to their ethical sensitivity, advanced problem-solving skills, creative thinking capacity, and heightened awareness of global issues. However, despite their high sensitivity to these topics, they must first develop a personal awareness of sustainable living to fully realize this potential. Immersive Virtual Reality (IVR) can support this process by fostering a deeper understanding of environmental challenges and encouraging active engagement in generating effective and innovative solutions, ultimately contributing to a more sustainable and equitable society. We aimed to enhance gifted students' sustainable living awareness using IVR. Thirteen 3D scenes were implemented to explore students’ learning experiences and IVR's impact on their awareness. Seventeen gifted students participated (average age 12.4), utilizing a mixed-methods approach combining a case study for qualitative insights and a single-group pre-test-post-test design for quantitative analysis. Data collection tools included the Sustainable Living Awareness Scale (SLAS), the Word Association Test (WAT), and reflective letters. Quantitative data were analyzed using the Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test, showing a significant post-test improvement in SLAS scores. Qualitative findings revealed IVR’s role in deepening engagement with environmental issues, reducing psychological distance, and promoting concrete understanding. Despite these benefits, some students experienced challenges such as focus loss and physical discomfort. The study highlights the potential of IVR in sustainability education for gifted students, recommending strategies to mitigate its challenges for broader application.