Evaluation of eXtended reality (XR) technology on motivation for learning physics among students in mexican schools

Abstract

Developing countries, including Mexico, face the challenge of integrating technology to enhance education and improve learning outcomes. Despite evidence in many settings of the benefits of using virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) as learning tools, their potential use is still understudied in many developing regions. The objective of the present study is to evaluate the impact of a web-based eXtended Reality (XR) learning tool, PhysXR, among college-level students enrolled in a Mexican University. PhysXR is a web-based learning application designed to present users with information focused on Newtonian mechanics. This tool presents users with interactive experiences ranging from VR to AR environments and supports a physics simulator for experiments on physical phenomena of dynamics and kinematics. Overall, learning methodologies implemented using PhysXR follow the competency-based learning model implemented in Mexican Education Institutions, and include Learn by Doing and Problem Based Learning (PBL). In order to evaluate the PhysXR tool, 99 students were recruited and randomized to either experimental (VR and AR conditions using PhysXR) or control groups. Outcomes included student's learning and motivation, assessed using the John Keller's Attention, Relevance, Confidence and Satisfaction (ARCS) learning motivation model. Results from this study indicate that the use of the PhysXR tool, both VR and AR approaches, generates a significant improvement in learning gains and motivation compared with traditional methods, highlighting the potential of cross-platform capabilities that web-based XR technology could offer, as well as the use of real time physics simulations for learning.