A procedural mechanism for enhancing the quality of maritime navigator training in an immersive educational environment: factors, components, and tools

The purpose of the study is to develop and theoretically substantiate a procedural mechanism for improving the quality of maritime navigator training within an immersive educational environment viewed as a pedagogical and technological system. The article reveals the interrelation between external and internal factors that determine the necessity of designing an immersive educational environment in the system of professional training of maritime navigators. It is demonstrated that improving the quality of training cannot be reduced to the mere implementation of simulators and virtual reality technologies, but requires a transformation in the logic of organizing the educational process. The structural and functional components of the immersive educational – environment-technological, content-related, and organizational-methodological – are substantiated as system-forming factors in the transformation of cadets’ learning activities. The structure of training quality within the immersive educational environment is outlined, including the quality of the educational product, the quality of the educational process, and interaction with training stakeholders. A set of pedagogical measures aimed at transforming the educational process is identified, including the implementation of practice-oriented scenarios, the use of adaptive learning tools, the transformation of the instructor’s role, and the development of methodological support. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the following: 1) external and internal factors influencing the improvement of cadet training quality are identified and systematized as the basis for designing an immersive educational environment; 2) its structural and functional components are substantiated as system-forming factors in the organization of the educational process; 3) a mechanism for improving the quality of cadet training is developed, ensuring the coordination of factors, environmental components, pedagogical measures, and quality indicators. The study establishes that the immersive educational environment should not be considered merely as a set of technological tools, but as an integrated pedagogical and technological system that ensures the transition from a reproductive model of learning to an activity-based model. The implementation of the proposed mechanism enables a purposeful improvement in the quality of future maritime navigators’ training through the coordinated transformation of content, technologies, and the organization of the educational process.