Cultivating design creativity of vocational students: A model of project-based learning in AI-enabled immersive virtual environments

Abstract

This study integrates the advantages of an AI-enabled immersive virtual environment (AI-IVE), characterized by stereoscopic immersion, embodied engagement, intelligent interaction, and real-time feedback, with the features of project-based learning (PBL), including inquiry, collaboration, and active participation. We propose a PBL in AI-IVE (AI-IVE-PBL) model, structured around four key dimensions: teachers, students, agents, and teaching phases. The study pursued two objectives: (1) to conceptualize and articulate the AI-IVE-PBL model, and (2) to provide initial empirical evidence of its effectiveness through a two-group quasi-experimental evaluation. A quasi-experiment conducted in a vocational college in Fuzhou, China, implemented this model in the Public Space Interior Design course to examine its impact on students’ design creativity, learning engagement, and learning experience. The results indicate that, relative to traditional PBL (T-PBL), the AI-IVE-PBL model significantly enhances learning outcomes by fostering sustained idea-developing discourse (SIDD), as demonstrated by: (1) a marked improvement in students’ design ability and creative ability; (2) a substantial increase in both cognitive and behavioral engagement; (3) a pronounced elevation in learning motivation and satisfaction accompanied by a reduction in cognitive load. Findings from this study contribute to advancing design creativity among vocational students and provide valuable insights for the innovation of pedagogical strategies in vocational education.