Factors affecting collaborative learning in the virtual world of the metaverse

The virtual world of the metaverse holds promise for collaborative learning, leveraging immersion and interaction to produce group-based knowledge. With the advancement of virtual reality technologies, assisting and guiding the emerging metaverse for collaborative learning has emerged as a significant yet insufficiently explored concern. Therefore, this study sought to uncover key constructs of metaverse collaborative learning (MCL) and their priorities, and to establish an MCL model. The repertory grid (RG) method was adopted to elicit the participating experts’ constructs and examine their correlations, thereby building the model. The entire process consisted of two main phases: the first involved creating activity planners as elements, and the second included construct-elicited interviews, an RG online survey, and model development. The results ultimately identified thirteen key constructs across four categories for MCL. This study underlined the support and involvement levels of teachers as well as students’ collective exploration within or outside the virtual world based on the priority order and correlation strength of key constructs. Drawing on the experimental learning theory, experts considered that students’ free exploration of virtual worlds necessitated reflective learning. The proposed MCL model advances novel perspectives expanded from traditional computer-supported collaborative learning, informing future educational metaverse design.