Oral Examinations in Immersive 360° Environments

Duration: January 2025 – December 2025
Status: Completed
Educational Level: Tertiary Level
Topic: Digital Skills & Literacy, Digital Tools
Keywords: VR, Virtual Reality

Initial Situation

The project explored the integration of immersive 360° video-based virtual reality (360°VR) into oral examinations (“Fachgespräch”) in vocational and professional education and training (VPET), specifically in tertiary-level healthcare education. Traditional oral examinations often struggle to authentically assess professional competences in realistic workplace contexts. Previous research had shown that immersive technologies can support the assessment of communication and procedural competences by creating high-fidelity environments that resemble real professional situations. However, little research had examined the use of immersive environments for assessing higher-order competences such as argumentation and decision-making in oral examinations. In addition, practical guidelines for integrating 360°VR into examination procedures were lacking. The project addressed this gap by investigating whether immersive 360°VR could improve oral assessment practices and by developing implementation guidelines in collaboration with educational practitioners.

Objectives

The project aimed to investigate the effectiveness of 360°VR in oral examinations for tertiary-level healthcare education. It examined whether immersive environments influence examination performance, motivation, sense of presence, and cognitive load compared to traditional oral examinations. A further objective was to develop practical guidelines for integrating 360°VR into oral examination practices in collaboration with practitioners.

Method

A quasi-experimental design compared a traditional oral examination (control group, n = 39) with a360°VR-based oral examination (experimental group, n = 40). Participants completed a pre-test to ensure comparable prior knowledge. During the examination, the experimental group used immersive 360°VR scenarios, while the control group received the same information in written case studies. Oral responses were audio-recorded, transcribed, and independently assessed by two examiners using indicators including response accuracy and quality of decision-making explanations. Post-examination questionnaires measured presence, motivation, and cognitive load. Quantitative analyses included t-tests and structural equation modeling, complemented by qualitative analysis of open-ended feedback.

Results

Both groups demonstrated comparable prior knowledge at the start of the study. Quantitative analyses revealed no statistically significant differences in examination performance between the traditional and 360°VR conditions regarding response accuracy or quality of decision-making explanations. However, participants in the immersive condition reported significantly higher levels of presence, emotional connection to the patient, spatial understanding of the clinical setting, and motivation. Cognitive load remained similar across conditions. Structural equation modeling showed that emotional immersion positively predicted motivation, which in turn predicted assessment performance. Qualitative feedback indicated that students valued VR for improving visualization of the patient and environment and for supporting attention to contextual details. Participants expressed interest in using VR in future oral examinations.

Implemented Translation

The project contributed practical guidelines for integrating 360°VR into oral examination procedures in VPET. These guidelines were co-developed by researchers and practitioners to ensure direct applicability in educational settings. The project was conducted in collaboration with stakeholders from tertiary healthcare education who contributed to the design and implementation of the immersive examination scenarios. Findings and recommendations are intended to support institutions interested in introducing immersive assessment methods into qualification procedures. Future implementations include adapting the approach to additional vocational domains and further refining the guidelines based on continued practice-oriented evaluation.
The project demonstrated that immersive 360°VR can enrich oral examinations by increasing learners’ sense of presence and motivation without increasing cognitive load. Although performance outcomes did not significantly diff er from traditional examinations, the findings suggest that immersive environments can support more authentic and engaging assessment experiences. Impact was measured through quantitative performance analyses, questionnaires on learner experience, structural equation modeling, and qualitative feedback from participants.

Participating Institutions