Augmented Reality as a Sustainable Technology to Improve Academic Achievement in Students with and without Special Educational Needs

Abstract

Virtual reality has impacted education, where progressively more educational institutions consider its inclusion. The research problem derives from the need to study the educational possibilities provided by integrating augmented reality into the curriculum, and its effect on academic achievement in a diverse class, specifically in the chemistry subject. This study examines 60 school-age participants with and without special educational needs, and addresses three overarching questions: (a) Would integrating augmented reality (AR) technology result in better academic achievement? (b) Would knowledge be retained longer by using AR? (c) Is there any relationship between academic achievement, acceptance and motivation regarding the use of this technology? Embracing the socio-constructivist theory of learning and collaborative and immersive learning as a framework, this study was carried out using a quantitative approach and a pre-experimental design. The AR VR Molecules Editor application was used in chemistry lessons. Main results showed significant immediate academic achievement and content retention. Despite classroom diversity, immersive technologies enhance students’ learning regardless of whether they have special educational needs (SEN) or not. They also acknowledge that AR is a suitable sustainable technology that may foster social and cognitive justice and inclusive education, and train students that are equally prepared for the dynamic future.

Effects of Incorporating Augmented Reality into a Board Game for High School Students’ Learning Motivation and Acceptance in Health Education

“…Incorporating AR into the board game can help learners to increase their acceptance more effectively. The results confirm those of previous studies, in which AR has been shown to enhance acceptance [39][40][41]. Therefore, it can be speculated that the use of AR board games as learning tools can produce a certain attraction for the learners.…”

A systematic review of augmented reality in chemistry education

“…From another perspective, it can be assumed that students’ difficulties in understanding, interpreting, and translating complex molecular representations (Cai et al, 2014), inherent to chemistry topics such as ‘Molecular structures’, ‘Chemical bonds’, and ‘Molecular geometry’, may find help with the application of AR in their respective teaching processes. The advantages of this technology, compared to classic learning material (Ewais & Troyer, 2019), allow going beyond abstract concepts (Olim & Nisi, 2020) and might enhance important processes, such as knowledge retention (Badilla‐Quintana et al, 2020) and the development of spatial skills (Kodiyah et al, 2020).…”

Use of Augmented Reality for Students with Educational Needs: A Systematic Review (2016–2021)

“…On the other hand, in relation to the second research question (RQ2), "What experiences with Augmented Reality are being carried out with students with educational needs? ", the results of this work show us that AR can be applied in classrooms at different educational stages, from early childhood education to higher education, with students with educational needs in various areas, mainly in science, mathematics and literacy [25,29,35,37,40].…”