Students perceive teachers as more credible and effective when using realistic avatars over cartoonish ones in the metaverse

16 Dec 2025

Teaching in the metaverse presents a dynamic frontier for educational innovation. Avatars, serving as digital representations of teachers, play a pivotal role in shaping virtual learning experiences. This study explores the impact of avatar design and behavioral realism on student perceptions of credibility and teaching effectiveness in avatar-mediated environments. True experimental research with a 2 × 2 factorial design was conducted involving students from three campuses. Across all experimental conditions, students consistently favored realistic avatars over cartoonish ones. A crisscross pattern emerged in relation to behavioral realism.

Cartoonish avatars exhibiting realistic behaviors received higher ratings for instructor credibility but not for teaching effectiveness, whereas realistic avatars with the same gestures received higher ratings for teaching effectiveness but not for instructor credibility. From an educational standpoint, leveraging realistic avatars with authentic behaviors holds great promise for enhancing the teaching and learning experiences in the metaverse. Understanding the impact of avatar representations on student perceptions allows educators to tailor their virtual presence to better meet the needs and preferences of their students. Overall, this study contributes to the growing body of literature on educational metaverse and avatar-mediated teaching and learning by shedding light on the importance of avatar design and behavioral realism in shaping student perceptions and experiences.

While much of the existing research focuses on how users perceive their digital representations within virtual worlds, a notable research gap emerges in understanding how they perceive other users’ avatars in these spaces. This gap is particularly evident in the metaverse context, as most studies are still currently focused on technology acceptance (Chua & Yu, 2023) and adoption (Alfaisal et al., 2024).

Moreover, educational metaverse research predominantly focuses on students as the primary users (Han et al., 2023), often overlooking the critical role of educators in these virtual settings. This is a significant oversight that neglects the influential presence of educators within these virtual environments, whose digital representations could significantly shape their virtual persona and, by extension, their ability to convey information effectively and facilitate learning.

Author: Manuel B. Garcia (College of Education, University of the Philippines Diliman)

Read the full paper: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10494820.2025.2462144

Students perceive teachers as more credible and effective when using realistic avatars over cartoonish ones in the metaverse

Teaching in the metaverse presents a dynamic frontier for educational innovation. Avatars, serving as digital representations of teachers, play a pivotal role in shaping virtual learning experiences. This study explores the impact of avatar design and behavioral realism on student perceptions of credibility and teaching effectiveness in avatar-mediated environments. True experimental research with a 2 × 2 factorial design was conducted involving students from three campuses. Across all experimental conditions, students consistently favored realistic avatars over cartoonish ones. A crisscross pattern emerged in relation to behavioral realism.

Cartoonish avatars exhibiting realistic behaviors received higher ratings for instructor credibility but not for teaching effectiveness, whereas realistic avatars with the same gestures received higher ratings for teaching effectiveness but not for instructor credibility. From an educational standpoint, leveraging realistic avatars with authentic behaviors holds great promise for enhancing the teaching and learning experiences in the metaverse. Understanding the impact of avatar representations on student perceptions allows educators to tailor their virtual presence to better meet the needs and preferences of their students. Overall, this study contributes to the growing body of literature on educational metaverse and avatar-mediated teaching and learning by shedding light on the importance of avatar design and behavioral realism in shaping student perceptions and experiences.

While much of the existing research focuses on how users perceive their digital representations within virtual worlds, a notable research gap emerges in understanding how they perceive other users’ avatars in these spaces. This gap is particularly evident in the metaverse context, as most studies are still currently focused on technology acceptance (Chua & Yu, 2023) and adoption (Alfaisal et al., 2024).

Moreover, educational metaverse research predominantly focuses on students as the primary users (Han et al., 2023), often overlooking the critical role of educators in these virtual settings. This is a significant oversight that neglects the influential presence of educators within these virtual environments, whose digital representations could significantly shape their virtual persona and, by extension, their ability to convey information effectively and facilitate learning.

Author: Manuel B. Garcia (College of Education, University of the Philippines Diliman)

Read the full paper: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10494820.2025.2462144