Teaching Scientists’ Lives via Mobile Augmented Reality and Technology Awareness

Abstract

Mobile Augmented Reality (MAR) technologies offer new pedagogical opportunities by enriching learning environments through interactive and experience-based structures. This study examined the effect of teaching the lives of scientists belonging to the Islamic scientific tradition through the MAR application named TISAR-3D on 6th-grade students’ awareness levels regarding the use of technology in lessons. The research was conducted within the scope of a quasi-experimental design with pre-test and post-test control groups. The study group consisted of 40 students (experimental = 20, control = 20) studying at a public secondary school in Turkey. During the eight-week implementation process, the content was presented interactively to the experimental group through the MAR-based TISAR-3D application, whereas the same content was taught to the control group through text-based instructional materials. The data were collected through the Awareness Scale for the Use of Technology in Lessons and analyzed using independent samples and paired samples t-tests. The findings revealed that there were no significant differences between the groups at both pre-test and post-test levels, and no within-group change over time was observed in either group. In this respect, it is suggested that MAR applications should be redesigned not only for content presentation but also based on task-based learning and pedagogical integration, and their effects should be evaluated through longer-term and multidimensional assessment approaches.