Exploring Learner Needs and Flow Experiences in Immersive Virtual Reality Physiology Labs: A Mixed-Methods Study

Virtual reality (VR) is increasingly used in physiology lab courses to replace physical dissections and reduce animal sacrifice. While previous research has shown that flow experiences enhance motivation and performance in medical learning, and the flow-based Person–Artefact–Task (PAT) model has been validated in various AR/VR educational settings (such as basic design and art education), its application to highly technical and emotionally demanding medical contexts, such as physiology dissection labs, remains underexplored. This study integrated VR into frog dissection labs and adopted flow theory to investigate learners’ learning attitudes, continuance intention, and the psychological mechanisms underlying sustained VR adoption. A mixed-methods approach was used. First, the PAT model was applied to analyze the relationships among key variables. Second, focus groups were conducted to explore students’ VR learning needs. Results showed that (1) student and equipment factors significantly influenced flow experiences, whereas task factors did not reach statistical significance; (2) flow was positively associated with learning attitudes and continuance intention; (3) participants experienced flow regardless of prior dissection experience; (4) significant serial mediation effects were identified, with attitude serving as a key mediator linking flow experience to continuance intention, highlighting an important psychological mechanism underlying sustained VR adoption; (5) five major categories and 25 subcategories of learner needs were identified. These findings offer practical insights into designing effective, flow-driven VR learning environments for physiology education.