A multi-institutional study of inquiry-based lab activities using the Augmented Reality Sandbox: impacts on undergraduate student learning

ABSTRACT

We developed and tested different pedagogical treatments using an Augmented Reality (AR) Sandbox to teach introductory geoscience students about reading topographic maps at five institutions in both pilot and full implementation studies. The AR Sandbox treatments were characterized as 1) unstructured play, 2) a semi-structured lesson, and 3) a structured lesson. The success of each was contrasted with the control condition of a traditional topographic map lab without the AR Sandbox. Students completed a subset of questions from the Topographic Maps Assessment (TMA) and a series of mental rotation questions post-implementation. No significant differences were found on TMA post-test scores between groups who used the unstructured Sandbox play treatment compared to the control condition. Semi-structured and structured lesson formats similarly failed to produce a statistically significant difference on the TMA post-test. This indicates that no single treatment worked universally better than another. However, regression analysis showed two factors significantly predicted performance on the TMA, including spatial performance and self-assessed knowledge (or confidence) of topographic maps. Of the groups that used the Sandbox, students with low and high scores on the mental rotation test performed best on the TMA following the structured treatment.

KEYWORDS:

• Visualization
• spatial thinking
• mixed reality
• topographic maps
• pedagogy

Acknowledgments

Authors 1 and 2 did the majority of the writing of the manuscript, with authors 3-9 contributing to portions of the manuscript. Authors 2-8 directly taught the lab courses and authors 1, 2, 6, and 8 analyzed data. We thank the students that participated in this study and the Teaching Assistants and Lecturers who taught sections of the labs included in this study. We acknowledge support of the following entities: North Carolina State University’s STEM Education Initiative Grant, Eastern Michigan University’s Faculty Development Center eFellows Grant, Northern Illinois University Undergraduate Research and Artistry Grant, and the State University of New York’s Innovative Instructional Technology Grant.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Supplemental Material

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