Examining Co-Regulation in VR Modalities within Interprofessional BIM Teams
Where BIM meets VR: examining how different VR modalities impact interprofessional teamwork, co-regulation, and clash-resolution in VET training.
Duration: January 2026 – December 2026
Status: Ongoing
Educational Level: Upper Secondary Level – Vocational Education
Topic: Digital Tools
Keywords: Immersive Virtual Reality (IVR), Co-Regulation, Collaborative BIM, Interprofessional Teams, Clash Resolution
Initial Situation
Virtual reality (VR) is becoming a valuable tool in vocational education, yet most research focuses on individual learning rather than the collaborative demands of real AEC practice. In Building Information Modeling (BIM), apprentices must perform clash detection and resolution, identifying and solving spatial conflicts between design elements such as ducts and beams. Because these clashes span multiple trades, effective resolution requires coordinated decision-making, negotiation, and shared problem-solving. Co-regulation frameworks explain how teams monitor and guide their collaborative processes, but little is known about how these mechanisms function in technologically mediated, spatially complex environments like VR-based BIM tasks. Extending co-regulation into immersive and multimodal settings offers new insight into how apprentices jointly manage challenges during collaborative VR training. Research on human factors in BIM has mainly addressed usability and system performance. Recent studies point to the need to better understand how different VR modalities influence collaboration, cognitive load, and decision-making. Comparing desktop VR (DVR) and immersive VR (IVR) can reveal how interface design shapes teamwork and spatial reasoning. These findings will support the development of more effective, user-centered vocational training models for future AEC professionals.
Objectives
The project aims to examine how VR modality (desktop vs. immersive) influences co-regulation and collaborative clash-resolution performance in interprofessional apprentice teams. It seeks to identify whether co-regulation differs between modalities and whether it predicts performance outcomes. The goal is to generate evidence-based insights to support the design of effective VR-supported vocational training in BIM contexts.
Method
We will conduct an experimental between-groups study with ten interprofessional apprentice teams working in either desktop VR or immersive VR. All teams complete the same BIM clash-resolution task in Autodesk Workshop XR. Data include performance metrics, presence, motivation, VR/BIM experience, and co-regulation (CRLQ). Analyses involve t-tests and multiple regression to compare co-regulation across modalities and examine its predictive value for performance while accounting for VR modality.
Planned Translation
The results will be translated directly into vocational education through pilot modules implemented with our practice partner gibb. Apprentices and teachers will test adapted VR/BIM scenarios and provide iterative feedback. Insights from the study will help refine collaborative workflows, training materials, and teaching strategies. By embedding the developed modules into existing curricula, the project ensures practical relevance and sustainable integration into vocational training.
The project will generate evidence on how VR modality affects collaborative learning, co-regulation, and clash-resolution performance in BIM training. Educational practice benefits through validated VR modules that strengthen teamwork, spatial reasoning, and problem-solving skills. Impact will be measured through performance indicators, co-regulation and presence scores, and feedback from apprentices during the exercises. For research, the project advances understanding of collaboration in immersive vocational learning environments.
