Immersive technologies in engineering education : a systematic review through the lens of constructive alignment and Bloom's taxonomy

Abstract

The engineering profession faces global challenges that require graduates with strong practical and cognitive skills, yet traditional curricula often lack real‐world and interdisciplinary preparation. Immersive Reality (IR) technologies, including Virtual, Augmented, and Mixed Reality, are increasingly explored in engineering education to bridge this gap. This systematic literature review examines how IR supports learning outcomes, categorising studies by technology, instructional design, and assessment methods. Using Bloom's Taxonomy, the findings reveal that most interventions target the ‘Apply’ level, with limited focus on higher‐order cognitive skills. A key gap identified is the limited use of pedagogical frameworks such as Bloom's Taxonomy and Constructive Alignment (CA), which hinders evaluation of instructional depth. To address this, the paper presents two illustrative designs that demonstrate how immersive Teaching and Learning Activities and Assessment Tasks (ATs) can be designed using CA principles. These cases offer practical guidance for embedding IR into engineering curricula in a pedagogically coherent and outcome‐aligned manner.