A Peer Assessment-Based Metaverse Inquiry Task Approach to Promoting Learning Achievement, Critical Thinking, Collaboration, and Creative Thinking: Evidence From Statistical and Epistemic Network Analysis

Abstract

The metaverse provides new opportunities for designing learning activities in Information Systems (IS) education. This study integrated a pedagogical approach with the metaverse and examined its effectiveness on learning achievement, critical thinking awareness, collaborative tendencies, and creative thinking skills. A total of 50 university students ( M age = 19.4 years) participated in this quasi-experimental study. The experimental group engaged in a peer-assessment-based metaverse AICDR (Asking, Investigating, Creating, Discussing, and Reflecting) inquiry task (PA-MIT), while the control group followed a conventional metaverse AICDR inquiry task (C-MIT) over an 11-week intervention. Data were analyzed using ANCOVA to compare group differences in learning achievement, critical thinking awareness, and collaboration tendency, while epistemic network analysis (ENA) was applied to explore creative thinking patterns. Results showed that the PA-MIT group achieved significantly higher learning achievement and greater critical thinking awareness than the C-MIT group. However, no significant difference was found in collaboration tendencies. ENA further revealed stronger links among originality, flexibility, and fluency in the PA-MIT group, while the C-MIT group demonstrated strengths in elaboration, flexibility, and fluency. Results highlighted the role of the PA-MIT approach in fostering originality-oriented creative thinking. Peer feedback and idea exchange may lead to the interconnectedness of higher frequency originality-related discourse.