Problem-based Learning in the Metaverse Environment: Evaluation of Virtual Reality Applications in Medical Education

Abstract

The metaverse is defined as an inevitable evolution of the internet and holds great potential as a new medium for social interaction. Its integration into educational environments has been increasingly recommended. This study aimed to explore a technology-supported solution for the challenges experienced in the problem-based learning (PBL) process used in medical faculties, taking into account the characteristics of the current digitally native generation. Twelve medical students who had previously received face-to-face PBL training participated in the study. They were asked to evaluate both virtual and face-to-face PBL sessions in terms of the educational facilitator, physical infrastructure, educational process, and scenario. Descriptive statistics, the Wilcoxon signed-rank test, and the Mann–Whitney U test were used to compare the groups. All participants reported higher satisfaction with virtual PBL across all sub-dimensions. The overall score comparison revealed a statistically significant difference in favor of virtual PBL (p < 0.05). A significant difference was also found among female participants (p < 0.05), whereas no significant difference was observed among male participants (p > 0.05). Gender-based comparisons showed no statistically significant difference in satisfaction (p > 0.05). In conclusion, virtual PBL sessions can effectively enhance medical students' clinical reasoning, problem-solving, and communication skills while providing a flexible and engaging learning environment with high levels of satisfaction.