Emerging extended reality (XR) platforms have transformed the landscape of collaborative learning by introducing immersive, embodied, and emotionally resonant environments. While existing research demonstrates XR’s capacity to heighten social presence and empathy (Jiménez-Cortés et al., 2016; Paananen et al., 2022), limited scholarship examines how learners interpret these experiences subjectively. This study employs Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to investigate how individuals perceive social presence, empathic resonance, avatar embodiment, and group cognition in shared XR classrooms. Findings suggest that immersive cues foster intensified co-presence, emotionally charged interactions, fluid identity expression, and spatially mediated reasoning. These insights contribute to emerging theoretical discourse on digital embodiment, mediated empathy, and distributed cognition within next-generation learning environments.
