The effects of augmented reality on concept development of girls in secondary education

Abstract

The educational value of augmented and virtual reality has been extensively theorized about, and practical studies have been performed (Wu et al, 2013). This small-scale preliminary research analyzes the effects of augmented reality (AR) on the concept development about the digestive system of girls of the Dutch lower secondary education system (3HAVO). This research used a pre and post survey with worksheets. The test of the nutrition and digestion chapter completed by the 29 participants, and an interview with five students from class 3C from the Cornelius Haga Lyceum. The participants were all girls because the majority of students in this school are girls and classes are divided by gender. Students used an AR app on a Samsung tablet to observe the chemical digestion of food. This app was developed by Utrecht University under the name Human Digestive System (HDS). The results were analyzed as a whole sample from the pilot class 3C. Participants showed positive progress in concept development regarding nutrition and digestion. When using the app, students showed increased motivation, collaboration and higher order thinking skills (HOTS) (Yen et al., 2015). Participants who used AR in the classroom also achieved better results on the test of nutrition and digestion.