Online Planning History Pedagogy Using Place-Based Immersive Virtual Reality

Abstract

This paper analyzes the course content, student learning outcomes, and pedagogical approach of a course on planning history and theory that uses historically informed immersive experiences (i.e., virtual reality, VR) to portray neighborhoods that were subject to planning from the 1920s to the 1980s in Montgomery, Alabama. Using data from student surveys in three class formats – fully in-person, hybrid, and fully online, and an evaluation of assignments for the fully online format, we assess student learning outcomes and the pedagogy of using VR to teach planning history. We specifically examined students’ comprehension of materials and the skills of reflection and empathy in planning as learning outcomes and the role VR can play in fostering these skills. The findings suggest that VR experiences improved students’ ability to connect planning to lived experiences and fostered reflection and empathy, although traditional in-person lectures were still preferred by students for understanding academic content.