Conventional approach vs augmented reality textbook on learning performance: a study in science learning among secondary school students

• Main Authors: Gopalan, Valarmathie, Zulkifli, Abdul Nasir, Abu Bakar, Juliana Aida
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: 2016
• Subjects: LB1603 Secondary Education. High schools
• Online Access: http://repo.uum.edu.my/27115/1/RDLFDL%2031%205%202016%2019%2026.pdf; http://repo.uum.edu.my/27115/; http://doi.org/10.21311/002.31.5.03

Malaysia is moving towards becoming a developed nation by 2020. As such, the need for adequate human resources in science related fields is one of the requirements to achieve a developed nation status. Unfortunately, there is a downward trend in the number of students pursuing the science stream at the secondary school level. This paper introduces an enhanced science textbook using Augmented Reality (eSTAR) that is intended to motivate students to be interested in science. The eSTAR was implemented to provide a supplement to the conventional science teaching and learning methods in the secondary schools. A learning performance study with a control group was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of the eSTAR for science learning among a sample of 140 Form Two secondary school students. The results indicate that the learning performance of the students in both groups had a significant difference in mean scores between the pre-test and post-test. Students using the eSTAR have a better score in the post-test and eventually resulted in a better learning performance compared to those who were exposed to the conventional science learning. Overall, the results show that the students benefited from the use of the conventional and eSTAR learning approaches.