Situated learning in an Australian zoo’s immersive habitat classrooms

Our exploratory case study examined how immersive teaching strategies in zoo-based classrooms support student learning through the lens of situated learning theory. Situated learning theory emphasizes four elements – content, context, environment, and participation – each present in the zoo’s Immersive Habitat Classrooms: Rainforest, Woodland, and Desert. We collected 644 Year 7 students’ (ages 13–14) drawings before and after their Immersive Habitat Classroom lessons and conducted non-participant observations of 15 lessons taught by five zoo educators. Drawing scores were analyzed using a rubric, a one-way ANOVA and 10 factorial ANOVA models. Most students showed improvement in habitat knowledge, with drawings reflecting more detailed representations of classification, adaptations, and environment-specific features. Observations revealed immersive teaching strategies, such as storytelling, animal handling, and dialogic discussion, that fostered engagement and conceptual understanding. Students responded emotionally to spontaneous animal behaviors, which anchored their learning in the authentic zoo context. The student’s post-drawing scores increased from pre-drawing scores for all three immersive habitat classrooms. Overall, there was a positive, statistically significant effect on student learning, from experiencing a lesson in the immersive habitat classrooms. These findings underscore the potential of zoo-based instruction to support science learning through active participation, authentic experiences, and situated meaning-making.