<p>Situated learning has been widely promoted in educational practice, where students are encouraged to learn by exploring real-world problems in authentic contexts. To expand the opportunities for situated learning, immersive virtual environments have been explored by presenting problem contexts in vivid and interactive formats and enabling a variety of exploration activities. However, there are multiple challenges surrounding situated learning. The challenges can be caused by the complexities of real-world problems, the complexities in exploring real-world problems, and the complexities in reflecting on the exploration experience. This paper presents a conceptual framework outlining three types of complexities surrounding situated learning and six strategies for coping with these complexities. A case of situated learning curriculum in an immersive virtual environment is used to illustrate how the framework works in practice. By presenting a high-level and holistic picture of the challenges in situated learning along with the coping strategies, the proposed framework enriches the understanding of situated learning. It can serve as a guide for designing situated learning curricula, evaluating situated learning practices, and addressing situated learning challenges.</p>