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Emerging technologies such as Augmented Reality (AR), have the potential to radically transform education by making challenging concepts visible and accessible to novices. In this project, we have designed a Hololens-based system in which collaborators are exposed to an unstructured learning activity in which they learned about the invisible physics involved in audio speakers. They learned topics ranging from spatial knowledge, such as shape of magnetic fields, to abstract conceptual knowledge, such as relationships between electricity and magnetism. We compared participants' learning, attitudes and collaboration with a tangible interface through multiple experimental conditions containing varying layers of AR information. We found that educational AR representations were beneficial for learning specific knowledge and increasing participants' self-efficacy (i.e., their ability to learn concepts in physics). However, we also found that participants in conditions that did not contain AR educational content, learned some concepts better than other groups and became more curious about physics. We discuss learning and collaboration differences, as well as benefits and detriments of implementing augmented reality for unstructured learning activities.
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Assessing the Design of an AR-based Physics Exploratorium
Concepts covered in introductory electricity and magnetism such as electric and magnetic field vectors, solenoids, and electromagnetic waves are difficult concepts for students to visualize. Part of this difficulty may be due to the representation of three-dimensional objects on the two-dimensional planes of course textbooks and classroom whiteboards. The use of two-dimensional platforms limits the visualization of phenomena such as the vector field of a point charge or test charges traveling in the three-dimensional space of an electric field. In addition, working in two dimensions may add to students’ difficulties orienting their body correctly to use the right-hand rule when determining the direction of a magnetic field. These difficulties in visualization may limit the conceptual understanding of these fundamental topics. To promote conceptual understanding of electromagnetism we are cyclically developing and researching three spatial computing 3D environments covering electric fields, magnetic fields and electromagnetic waves. Each environment will be developed and tested in both augmented and virtual reality. The first of our environments, the electric field, has been built and tested in augmented reality (AR) with introductory physics students in the Fall 2023 semester. Our study is currently in phase IV of the National Science Foundation’s Design and Development Cycle. Data collected during phase II is being analyzed to support revision to the environment as well as data collection protocols. This article will outline findings from qualitative data gathered during the AR experience as well as during student post interviews following participation in the electric field space. These findings are characterized and then responded to with recommendations for the design team regarding content and testing procedures. In what follows, we first present a framework listing current knowledge regarding students' difficulties learning electric fields and how these guided our design of this electric field augmented reality environment. We next present themes that emerged from discussions during the experience as well as the post interviews. We conclude with suggestions to inform our second round of environmental design.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2202413
- PAR ID:
- 10538071
- Publisher / Repository:
- American Society for Engineering Education
- Date Published:
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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Augmented reality (AR) is a powerful visualization tool to support learning of scientific concepts across learners of various ages. AR can make information otherwise invisible visible in the physical world in real-time. In this study, we are looking at a subset of data from a larger study (N=120), in which participant pairs interacted with an augmented sound producing speaker. We explored the learning behaviors in eight pairs of learners (N=16) who participated in an unstructured physics activity under two conditions: with or without AR. Comparing behaviors between the two experimental conditions, we found that AR affected learning in four different ways: participants in the AR condition (1) learned more about visual concepts (ex: magnetic field structures) but learned less about nonvisual content (ex: relationship between electricity and physical movement); (2) stopped exploring the system faster than NonAR participants; (3) used less aids in exploration and teaching; and (4) spent less time in teaching their collaborators. We discuss implications of those results for designing collaborative learning activities with augmented reality.more » « less
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