Bridging psychological distance: social presence in metaverse-augmented face-to-face classrooms

While research often explores the metaverse for distance education, its potential to enrich traditional, in-person instruction remains underexamined. This quasi-experimental study investigates how metaverse integration into physical classrooms influences students' social presence, their multidimensional interactions (learner-learner, -content, -instructor), and learning engagement. Data from 110 first-year undergraduates, analyzed via mediation modeling with bootstrapping, reveal that social presence significantly mediates the positive relationship between interaction and engagement. A notable gender difference emerged, with male students reporting higher technological affinity, social presence, and engagement. The findings advance social presence theory, positing that avatar-mediated interaction in hybrid learning reduces psychological distance. Consequently, this study proposes a five-stage Metaverse Instructional Design (MID) framework—encompassing goal setting, environment design, experience design, interaction activities, and outcome feedback—to provide educators with a structured, cyclical model for designing blended learning that deepens engagement through enhanced social presence.