Abstract
The learning of laboratory skills is essential in science education, but students often get too little individual guidance in this area. Augmented reality (AR) technologies are a promising tool to tackle this challenge and promote students’ high-level learning and performance in science laboratories. Thus, the purpose of this study was (1) to design an AR-assisted learning environment to support individual knowledge construction, (2) to investigate students’ learning processes and learning outcomes and (3) to examine the usability of the system. Pharmacy students (n = 16) were assigned to experimental (n = 10) and control (n = 6) groups and performed the same laboratory work together with pre- and post-tests. The experimental group worked with AR glasses that provided additional support and timely guidance during the work with additional info-screens, questions related to choosing correct reagents and laboratory tools and think-aloud questions, whereas the control group worked in a traditional laboratory context. The results showed that AR was more effective in fostering performance in the science laboratory compared to traditional laboratory instruction and prevented most of the mistakes. The AR group considered the guidance and feedback provided by AR to be beneficial for their learning. However, no apparent differences were found in tasks measuring students’ understanding of the content knowledge. Thus, an AR environment embedded with supportive tools could partly replace the teacher in science teaching laboratories by providing individual and timely guidance for the students.
Highlights
Augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR) and virtual reality (VR) technologies have begun to be more frequently used in education in recent years and they are likely to have a considerable influence on education [1]
After the laboratory work, the highest individual item scores representing agreement were after the laboratory work, the highest individual item scores representing agreement were obtained with the following phrases: “The AR equipment gave guidance that was useful to me”; “The guidance given by the AR equipment did benefit me in working” (4.3 ± 0.67) and “The AR equipment checked my working in the right stages of the work” (4.0 ± 0.94) (Figure 4; Appendix A)
The present study offers a step towards developing meaningful learning environments that make use of cutting-edge educational technology to support learning in science labs
Summary
Augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR) and virtual reality (VR) technologies have begun to be more frequently used in education in recent years and they are likely to have a considerable influence on education [1]. Most previous studies focused mainly on the technical approaches and often only superficial learning outcomes have been investigated. Most previous research focused on developing and studying technical solutions (usually AR implemented in smart phone solutions) from usability and technology points of view, whereas the underlying learning theories, based on which the solution has been developed, have been mostly ignored [5]. In studies that focus on learning processes and outcomes, the role of developing technical solutions has been less stringently investigated. There is a clear need to design, develop and explore pedagogically meaningful AR applications and solutions that aim to support students’ individual learning processes of practical skills, for example in the laboratory environment
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