Resumen El presente trabajo aborda las implicancias del diseño de secuencias de enseñanza y aprendizaje (SEA) en ciencias, con el uso de realidad aumentada (RA). Las SEA hacen referencia a la planificación de situaciones de enseñanza y aprendizaje centrada en un tema o contenido disciplinario específico. Por RA se entiende una combinación de ambientes reales e información en formato digital que amplía la comprensión sobre la realidad que captan nuestros sentidos. En el caso ilustrado en este artículo, la secuencia de enseñanza y aprendizaje enriquecida con RA propone la manipulación, interacción e integración de formatos de información tridimensional que permite una mejor conexión entre los aspectos teóricos y la experiencia práctica que guía un proceso de transformación de fenómenos científicos. En este artículo presentamos una actividad prototipo diseñada para la enseñanza de la química.

The integrated mechanisms of heart contraction are some of the most complex processes for undergraduate biomedical students to understand. Visual models have the potential to enhance learning environments by providing visual representations of complex mechanisms. Despite their benefits, the use of visual models in undergraduate classrooms is still limited. For this study, we tested the effect of a learning sequence of activities related to the cardiac cycle using an augmented reality (AR) application for smartphones and tablets. We were interested in understanding the ability of students to draw and label figures reflecting cardiac function after experiencing the learning sequence using AR. Undergraduate students of the biomedical sciences (control n = 43, experimental n = 58) were enrolled in the course, and their drawings were evaluated using multiple levels of complexity (1 = basic to 5 = complex) through a pre-/posttest structure that included a learning sequence based on AR in the experimental group and regular lecture-based activities in the control group. The complexity of students’ drawings was evaluated on the anatomical, physiological, and molecular aspects of heart contraction. We used Cohen’s kappa index for interrater reliability when determining the complexity of drawings. Control and experimental groups showed no differences in baseline knowledge (preexamination quiz). The students who experienced the AR activities showed an increase in the complexity of representation levels in posttest results and also showed a significant difference in scores for the final exam in the heart physiology course. Our results indicate that using AR enhances the comprehension of anatomical and physiological concepts of the cardiac cycle for undergraduate biomedical students.

Developing chemistry students' capability to use representations to explain phenomena is a challenging task for educators. To overcome chemistry students' learning difficulties, strategies that favor the development of visualization capabilities have been identified as productive. We are particularly interested in exploring the use of augmented reality in chemistry education to foster the development of those capabilities in undergraduate students. Our research objective was to analyze the contribution of augmented reality to support undergraduate chemistry students' visualization capacities while explaining the physical-kinetic processes of chromatography. Using an exploratory case study approach, we designed and conducted four task teaching and learning sequences, with seven Augmented Reality markers embedded. Thirty-eight undergraduate students, who voluntarily agreed to participate, explained the different elution rates of pigments in a chromatographic column. Their written accounts were analyzed to identify the level of sophistication of their representations. After using Augmented Reality, students' representations progressed from simple macroscopic descriptions of observed phenomena to explanations of processes where scientific ideas and microscopic representations were used as supporting evidence. Our study shows that the use of Augmented Reality has the potential to favor a more sophisticated use of representations when undergraduate students explain chromatographic processes. However, there are still limitations in reaching the highest levels of performance described in the literature.

Snails have occupied an important role in the ideology and religion of the ancient American peoples, who considered them to be magical and used them in ritual ceremonies as ornaments, musical instruments, and architectural elements. Today, they are a valuable study system for understanding biodiversity and evolution due to their remarkable ecological and morphological diversity. Given that many endemic snails are of conservation concern, and that most South American species are poorly studied, there is a need to engage the public through understandable and scientifically based language, conveying the importance of biodiversity. However, not all biodiversity can be seen with the naked eye. Herein, we describe how we utilize snails and their shells to engage citizens and train teachers to promote the many different facets of biodiversity. Through design-based research oriented toward educational innovation, we created a teaching–learning sequence with immersive technology through the following stages of work: (1) produce a teaching–learning sequence and accompanying mobile device application (for Android on GooglePlay), (2) evaluate the impact of the educational resource, and (3) conduct research through a pre- and posttest design on the learning outcomes of participants. In this work, we first present the field experience where scientists, teachers, and pre-service teachers worked together to find snails from northern Chile to Chiloé Island. Some results from this research stage are: criteria for designing a teaching–learning sequence (e.g., how to utilize place as an opportunity for learning science with developmentally appropriate technologies identified for every phase of the sequence), modeling relevant phenomena about biodiversity and ecosystems through snails, scaffolding for teachers implementing the sequence, and activities that enhance STEM education. A teaching–learning sequence that addresses snails as study objects for 4th grade is presented and validated, allowing us to continue the next phase of our research with schools. A second article will propose results from implementation, iterations, and their implications.