Assessing the Impact of Emerging Technologies (VR, AR, AI) on Stem Teaching Practices and Students Learning Experiences in Federal College of Education Pankshin, Plateau State, Nigeria

This study examined the impact of emerging technologies—Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and Artificial Intelligence (AI)—on STEM teaching practices and students’ learning experiences at the Federal College of Education, Pankshin, Plateau State, Nigeria. A descriptive survey research design was adopted to generate empirical evidence on the level of technology integration, perceived instructional impact, and challenges associated with adoption. The population comprised 1,429 STEM students and 105 STEM lecturers, from which a sample of 374 students and 83 lecturers was selected using a stratified sampling technique. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire titled Emerging Technologies in STEM Teaching and Learning Questionnaire (ETSTLQ) and analysed using mean scores, standard deviations, and Chi-square tests of independence at the 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed that the integration of VR, AR, and AI into STEM teaching practices at the institution was generally low, indicating a continued reliance on conventional instructional approaches. Despite this limited level of integration, the results showed a statistically significant positive impact of emerging technologies on students’ learning experiences, particularly in terms of engagement, conceptual understanding, motivation, and knowledge retention. The study further identified significant challenges hindering adoption, including inadequate technological infrastructure, high costs of acquisition and maintenance, insufficient lecturer training, limited technical support, and resistance to change. The results of the hypotheses tests confirmed that both the impact of emerging technologies on learning experiences and the influence of identified challenges on adoption were statistically significant. The study concludes that while emerging technologies hold substantial potential for enhancing STEM education, deliberate institutional interventions are required to address structural and capacity-related barriers. Strategic investment in infrastructure, continuous professional development, and supportive institutional policies are recommended to promote effective integration and improve the quality of STEM teaching and learning.