Constructing Geographical Knowledge through On-Site, Immersive, and Digital Exploration: A Comparative Study in a Multicultural Neighbourhood

This paper presents a comparative study examining how different modes of territorial interaction shape the construction of geographical knowledge. Conducted in May 2025, the research compared three approaches to exploring Milan’s Sarpi-Chinatown multicultural neighbourhood: an on-site field visit, immersive Virtual Reality (VR) exploration with instructor-guided avatars, and webGIS-based navigation. While geospatial and Extended Reality technologies expand access to geographical information, technological mediation actively configures spatial experience, raising pedagogical questions about the capacity of digital tools to convey the multisensory richness of place. The findings reveal distinct epistemological affordances across modalities. On-site field visits fostered deeper multisensory engagement and embodied spatial understanding. VR supported spatial orientation and collaborative exploration but privileged visual perception. WebGIS proved particularly effective for analytical reasoning across scales, while tending to abstract territorial complexity. Rather than positioning these approaches as alternatives, the study conceptualizes them as complementary. Their integration – combining physical field experience, immersive virtual environments, and digital analytical tools – supports richer geographical learning and provides empirically grounded insights for epistemologically informed uses of technology in geography teacher education.