Student engagement significantly influences academic success, motivating
educators to explore innovative technologies to enhance learning environments.
This mixed-methods study systematically investigates the impact of Artificial
Intelligence, Extended Reality, and their combined usage, compared with
traditional learning environments, on high school students’ cognitive, emotional,
behavioral, and social engagement. Utilizing Kolb’s Experiential Learning Theory,
this research used a convergent parallel design, combining quantitative
data from 888 students who took part in rigorous non-parametric analyses
and semi-structured interviews with 40 students sampled for qualitative
descriptive thematic analysis. Results indicated that the AI-XR environment
outperformed all other environments across all four engagement categories.
Findings reinforce the synergistic opportunities for learning with AI and XR
when applied in educational environments. The XR environment conceptually
yielded higher levels of emotional and cognitive engagement through the
immersive visualization, while the AI-environment yielded high levels of
personalized adaptive learning pathways for students. Meanwhile, traditional
learning environments led to the lowest engagement levels, due to their passive
and non-interactive teaching nature. These findings reveal the transformative
power of combining AI and XR technologies, o????ering essential implications
for teachers, policymakers, and instructional designers committed to fostering
deeper and broader student engagement in the context of digitally enriched
educational systems.

Title

Frontiers in Education

Publisher

Frontiers

Publisher Country

Switzerland

Indexing

Scopus

Impact Factor

1.9

Publication Type

Online only

Volume

10

Year

2025

Pages

--