Revolutionizing environmental art education for sustainable development: A metaverse-driven transformation and pedagogical innovation

Abstract

The metaverse, as a revolutionary digital ecosystem integrating next-generation information technologies such as extended reality (XR), artificial intelligence (AI), and blockchain, is driving structural transformation in education paradigms. However, despite growing market projections indicating a CAGR of 37.9% for metaverse education from 2025-2035, significant gaps remain in understanding how these technologies can be systematically applied to discipline-specific pedagogical contexts, particularly in design education where embodied spatial cognition and material experimentation are essential. This study addresses this knowledge gap by centering on innovation in higher education, using environmental art design as an empirical research subject. Unlike previous studies that focus primarily on technical infrastructure or generic educational applications, this research systematically explores the application paradigm of the educational metaverse specifically tailored to sustainable development education in design disciplines. By developing three-dimensional immersive teaching spaces, creating design practice platforms that integrate virtual and physical elements, and establishing mechanisms for inter-institutional resource sharing, this study offers an innovative implementation framework for environmental art design education. The research contributes a novel pedagogical model that bridges the gap between virtual-physical integration and sustainable design competencies, providing both theoretical advancement and practical pathways for the transformation of design disciplines in the metaverse era.