Evaluating the impact of virtual reality on student engagement and conceptual understanding in engineering education

This study evaluates a custom-built virtual reality (VR) application for teaching the crank-slider mechanism in engineering education. The VR environment, developed in Unreal Engine, was structured into three scaffolded phases (introductory, educational, and free exploration) and integrated gamification and AI voice guidance. A quantitative study with 43 undergraduate students revealed significant improvements in key perceptions of VR technology. Ease of use showed a substantial increase (12 % improvement, p = 0.001 , Cohen’s d z = 0.55 ), moving from marginal to positive usability. Accessibility also improved significantly (11 % increase, p = 0.004 , d z = 0.46 ), though it remained the primary challenge. Participants rated the VR lessons as highly captivating ( M = 4.84 / 5.00 ) and useful for education ( M = 4.81 / 5.00 ), with perceptions of VR’s innovativeness and educational value converging at a high level ( M P o s t = 4.81 ). These findings provide preliminary evidence of VR’s potential to enhance student engagement and reduce technological barriers in engineering education. For broader uptake, future work must address the persistent financial and accessibility challenges.