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Immersive training: here are a few serious and regularly cited studies showing that virtual reality (VR) significantly improves the rate of information retention in a training context:

 

Academic studies & meta-analyses for immersive training

 

  • A meta-analysis in education (K-12 and higher) reveals that immersive VR environments offer significant gains on knowledge tests, far more effective than conventional videos or slideshows.(PDF LINK)Β 

  • An engineering study by Lin et al (2023) shows that after mechanical assembly training, in VR training, one group obtained the highest post-test scores, higher than those of the desktop VR or physical training groups(LIEN).

  • A comparison between VR training, desktop VR, and slideshow presentation in food microbiology indicates that VR promotes long-term retention: students show more visual attention and lasting memory (LINK).

 

 


πŸ“ˆ Field studies & industrial reports

 

  • The University of Maryland (Varshney et al.) reports a 12% increase in median recall and an 8.8% increase in precision in VR compared to screen-based training (CBT)(LINK).

  • One week after the training, Transfr Inc. observed :

    • 86% performance on tasks learned in VR versus only 71% with slide presentation (LINK).

  • PwC (2020) reports that VR learners are up to 4Γ— more focused and enjoy a 75% retention rate, compared with 10% for reading and just 5% for lectures (LINK).

Immersive Training

 

 


🌍 Recent research in schools

 

  • An international study (317 students in El Salvador, April 2025) shows that the VR group has a 35% increase in retention, compared with just 2.6% for the traditional group one week after training (LINK).

    Example here: School bullying, 1 tool to raise awareness: VR

 

 


πŸ’‘ To sum up

Training mode Information retention
Traditional reading β‰ˆ 5-10 %
Lectures / slide show 10-20 %
Immersive VR training 75-86 %

On average, VR increases retention rates by a factor of 4 to 10 compared with conventional modes. The immersive aspect, with maximum concentration and active repetition, encourages deeper consolidation of knowledge.