Abstract
In this study, we report findings from the PCBuildAR project, in which students developed augmented reality (AR) artifacts following a guided design-based learning (DBL) approach. Sixty-two students participated in the study and were either in their first year to learn about computer science or were more experienced computer science students. In terms of learning performance, only the first-year students benefited from our guided DBL approach. In contrast, the experienced students were highly motivated to learn computer science not only immediately after the intervention, but also in the long term. For first-year students, this effect was only evident directly after the intervention. Overall, the guided DBL design proved to be effective for both motivation and learning, especially for younger students. For older learners, a better balance between guidance and autonomy is recommended.
Highlights
Students are expected to be interested in disciplines such as computer science or technology education, but this interest is diminishing as school-based STEM learning is perceived as difficult, complicated, and not relevant to life [2,3]
Our results show that the first-year students with less prior knowledge significantly improved their learning performance after the intervention and gained on the experienced students, so that at time point 1 there was no longer a difference between the groups
Based on the results of this study, we can conclude that our guided augmented reality (AR) Design-based learning (DBL) approach for computer science education proved to be more effective in terms of learning performance for younger first-year students with less prior knowledge than for more experienced students with higher prior knowledge
Summary
Students are expected to be interested in disciplines such as computer science or technology education, but this interest is diminishing as school-based STEM learning is perceived as difficult, complicated, and not relevant to life [2,3]. To address this problem, researchers are calling for practice-based and learner-centered instructional methods that provide opportunities for learners to discover content on their own and design their own learning products [4,5]
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