Investigation of the Effectiveness of Augmented Reality and Modelling Based Teaching in "Solar System and Eclipses" Unit

Abstract

This study was aimed to investigate the effectiveness of augmented reality and modeling-based teaching in the "Solar System and Eclipses" unit. The pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design model was used in this study. For three weeks, the "Solar System and Eclipses" unit of the Science course was taught to the experimental group using modeling-based teaching and augmented reality applications, and, in the control group, the existing science curriculum was followed. The study group consists of 22 students who were in the 6th grade in the 2020-2021 academic year in a secondary school affiliated with the Ministry of National Education. Data collection tools in this study were administered "Academic Achievement Test", "21st-Century Skills Scale", and "Augmented Reality Applications Attitude Scale". The application of augmented reality and modeling-based teaching in covering the "Solar System and Eclipses" unit was positively affected students' learning and increased their levels of success, improved the 21st-century skills and improved attitudes towards augmented reality applications. Studies on augmented reality applications and modeling-based teaching in different Science course units of different secondary school grades that will contribute positively to the literature are recommended.

The Impact of Using Model and Augmented Reality Technology on Students’ Science Achievement, Motivation, and Interest Levels

“…It has not been possible to compare our results with the relevant literature because there is no study in the available literature investigating the effects of AR and modeling techniques separately on learning middle school science topics. However, in a very recent study, Baba, Zorlu & Zorlu (2022) used a similar pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design, consisting of one experimental and one control group to examine the effects of AR and modeling techniques on the "Solar System and Eclipses" unit. Since they have formed the experimental group in a way to investigate the effects of both techniques together, it cannot be said that the design they used is fully compatible with our experimental design.…”

“…The AR and modeling techniques and the materials used in the course process increased the interest of the students towards the science course. With the modeling and AR applications, students took an active role in the course process and their academic achievements improved positively (Baba, Zorlu & Zorlu, 2022;Delello, 2014).…”

“…However, although various studies have been conducted in different areas of science education, there is only a recent study dealing with the effect of modelling and AR technology on a middle school science topic. In that study, Baba, Zorlu & Zorlu (2022) found that use of AR technology and modeling-based teaching in covering the "Solar System and Eclipses" unit of the science course has positively affected attitudes towards AR applications, academic success levels, and improved 21st-century skills. On the other hand, no study has been found in which the effects of modeling and AR applications are researched separately in the same study.…”

Augmented reality technology in teaching about physics: a systematic review of opportunities and challenges

“…Particularly strong effects on affective domain of learning have been observed in studies related to learning about astronomy and electrical circuits [37,51,61,89,105]. Cai et al [40] and Chen et al [46] reported that students were able to enhance their flow experience when utilizing AR applications for learning about mechanics and astronomy.…”