The Effects of Mobile AR-based Biology Learning Experience on Students' Motivation, Self-Efficacy, and Attitudes in Online Learning

The purpose of this study is to enhance online biology learning with mobile augmented reality (AR) applications and to assess the impact of mobile AR applications on students' motivation, self-efficacy, and attitudes toward biology learning. Students were interviewed, and the usefulness of mobile AR applications was evaluated using a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest approach. The study group consists of 71 high school students, 26 in the control group and 45 in the experimental group, attending a public high school in the Western Black Sea Region of Turkey during the academic year 2020-2021. The self-efficacy ratings of the experimental group of students who participated in mobile AR-based biology learning were statistically higher than those of the control group after a 12-week trial. However, there were no statistically significant differences between experimental and control group students' motivation and attitudes toward biology learning. In addition, as a result of student interviews, mobile AR applications were deemed innovative, non-distracting, successful in knowledge acquisition, engaging, intriguing, and entertaining, boosting information retention, concretizing the subject, and facilitating learning.

Automated summary

The purpose of this study is to enhance online biology learning using mobile augmented reality (AR) applications and assess their impact on students' motivation, self-efficacy, and attitudes toward biology learning. Interviews were conducted with students and the usefulness of mobile AR applications was evaluated using a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest approach. The experimental group consisting of 45 high school students who participated in mobile AR-based biology learning had significantly higher self-efficacy ratings compared to the control group after a 12-week trial. However, there were no statistically significant differences in motivation and attitudes toward biology learning between the experimental and control group students. Furthermore, student interviews revealed that mobile AR applications were considered innovative, non-distracting, successful in knowledge acquisition, engaging, intriguing, and entertaining, helping with information retention, concretizing the subject, and facilitating learning.