Investigating Design Strategies for Classroom-based Augmented Reality Learning Experiences

Doctoral Thesis, IIT Bombay, July 2017 - July 2022

The Indian schools in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities involve technology-driven classrooms. However, learning the subjects such as (but not limited to) Mathematics, Science, and History that include abstract concepts often becomes challenging for students due to the requirement of visualizing skills, a lack of learner-content control, and frequent disengagement. This leads to the requirement of a student-centered techno-pedagogical tool. Recent works have indicated Augmented Reality (AR) to be one of the emerging technologies for student-centered learning that superimposes computer-generated virtual objects onto the real world in real-time. Moreover, the ubiquity of mobile phones has led to increased integration of AR and mobile learning. In the context of Indian schools, this technology is still being explored and is yet to be added to the benefits of classroom teaching. Hence, there is a need to identify the ways by which AR technology can be designed and used in Indian schools to provide an interactive, immersive, and enhanced learning experience. To create such a classroom-based Augmented Reality Learning Experience (ARLE), the potential design strategies have to be identified and applied.
  This dissertation advances our understanding of these problems in two ways: (1) to characterize the design strategies of an ARLE incorporating the three dimensions of learning i.e. content, incentive, and interaction (Illeris, 2003), and (2) to apply the identified design strategies in creating an ARLE. We have used Design Based Research (DBR) as the overarching research approach to design and iterate on the potential solution. DBR is a research methodology that aims at the development of educational interventions or learning environments through iterative cycles of analysis and exploration, design and development, and evaluation and reflection. We carried out seven research studies (N = 235) using a mixed-method approach in two cycles of DBR.
  To address the first research goal i.e. to understand the required design strategies for a classroom-based ARLE, along with a literature review, three studies were conducted to iteratively identify the design strategies. Initially, the expectations from students, teachers, and parents of having an ARLE in the classroom were outlined (Study 1). Furthermore, the suitable AR interaction mediums that can be used for collaborative AR problem-solving in the classrooms were identified (Study 2). This was followed by conducting a workshop with the designers of an ARLE to identify the design strategies classified under the three dimensions of learning (content, incentive, and interaction), that meet the user expectations and incorporate the AR interaction mediums (Study 3). The identified design strategies guided us in designing an ARLE, named ScholAR in two iterations.
  With the help of ScholAR, the 7th-grade learners could explore the AR content, perform the AR learning activities and answer the reflective questions with and without AR. This was done for the topics related to 3D geometry such as ‘Lines and Angles’ and ‘Visualizing Solid Shapes’. The primary objective of these AR learning experiences was to provide the learners with an authentic context and involve embodiment while addressing the three dimensions of learning. Thus, the learners could gain (a) cognitive learning while exploring the concepts and solving the problems in AR (content), (b) affective learning while getting immersed in the process through embodiment (incentive), and (c) social learning while collaborating with peers and teachers to solve the problems in AR (interaction). Such learning experiences are critical for embedding concepts and practices into pedagogy and aiding learners' key learning processes while performing the AR learning activities. Moreover, the DBR approach helped in identifying the features of the activities like instructional slider and prompt, embodied controls for multi-perspective view through physical navigation, 3D object manipulation, and annotation in the augmented space.
  The first iteration of ScholAR for the module of Lines and Angles was evaluated in a lab setup (Study 4) where students either used ScholAR in dyads or individually. The Visualizing Solid Shapes module was evaluated in a classroom (Study 5) with students belonging to either the group performing the AR learning activities or the group learning the same topic using the available physical objects. In both the studies we examined how the design strategies were used in ScholAR for problem-solving; impacting cognitive, affecting, and social learning. We reflected upon the effective design strategies and the corresponding design changes required. The evaluation of the revised design and the effective design strategies was done with dyads for both Lines and Angles (Study 6) and Visualizing Solid Shapes (Study 7). Thus, in constantly refining our design to support 3D visualization for problem-solving, we refined our understanding of the design strategies that led to the Co-ASAR (Cognitive, Affective, and Social learning using Augmented Reality) framework.
  The major contributions of the thesis include a set of design strategies catering to the dimensions of learning in a classroom-based ARLE, the design of an ARLE for problem-solving supporting 3D visualization, and a framework for designing a classroom-based ARLE to attain cognitive, affective, and social learning.

Keywords: Augmented Reality Learning Experience, Design Strategies, Dimensions of Learning, 3D visualization, Problem-solving, Design-based Research