Rejuvenation Island: Enriching the learning journey through immersion in virtual restorative environments

Abstract

Immersive natural environments provide a means of restoration for adults and may present benefits for pre-service teachers who are unfamiliar with the natural world. The use of restorative virtual environments could be extended to schools in urban areas in particular, allowing pupils and their teachers to undertake field trips, and to relax in a calming and restorative context. This paper reports on a project that investigates the potential restorative benefits of immersion in simulated natural environments in virtual worlds. A cohort of pre-service teachers were taken into the simulated environment and reported that the island produced strong positive feelings in respondents, akin to being in a natural environment. However, it was also clear that a lack of familiarity with virtual environments diminishes the beneficial impacts of this immersion.