The initial learning experience is a critical opportunity to support conceptual understanding of abstract STEM concepts. Although hands-on activities and physical three-dimensional models are beneficial, they are seldom utilized and are replaced increasingly by digital simulations and laboratory exercises presented on touchscreen tablet computers.…

From the experiential learning perspective, this study investigates middle and high school students (n = 1009) who used an online module to learn about wildfire hazards, risks, and impacts through computational simulations of wildfire phenomena. These students were taught by 18 teachers in urban, rural, and suburban schools across the United…

In order to characterize students' risk assessment explanations based on the Geohazard Risk Framework, which describes four key elements of risk for high school science education, we investigate whether student explanations include the following risk elements: scientific factors, impacts, human influences, and likelihood. This study uses the…

The use of virtual reality (VR) in formal education has burgeoned in recent years, with enthusiastic uptake by teachers and instructors across a wide range of subject areas and academic disciplines. We conducted a systematic meta-analysis of effects of VR on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics learning from middle school through…

The microscopic composition of substances is a piece of essential but abstract knowledge in chemistry. Junior high school students may experience difficulty in mental representation when learning micro concepts, which leads to problems such as unsatisfactory academic performance and low learning motivation. Augmented reality (AR) is an optimal…

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…

This study investigates the effect of incorporating different learning materials (paper textbooks, wearable AR material, and wearable hybrid AR/VR material) in a physics laboratory education on the situational interest, engagement, and learning performance of high school students. The study utilized a quasi-experimental research design. The…

Numerous studies illustrate the value of simulations or project-based learning approaches to enhance the learning of science. Simulations can help students connect across macroscopic, microscopic, and symbolic representations of scientific phenomena, while project-based learning can provide a meaningful narrative and activities for students to…

This study employed a non-equivalent quasi-experimental pre-test/post-test control-group design to study the effect of the PhET simulation intervention on students' engagement, satisfaction, and academic achievement in the learning of direct current electric circuit concepts among Bhutanese students. We analysed the pre- and post-test scores and…

It is difficult for students to learn the concepts of chemical laboratory safety education from actual experiences because the traditional teaching model prohibits students from performing dangerous operations. Therefore, this study develops a novel mixed reality-based chemistry experiment learning system (MRCELS) to allow learners to conduct…

An immersive virtual reality (iVR) game for high school students to learn about locations in their watershed with a primary focus on their city was designed and developed, employing a design model that focuses on flow. An exploratory study with the iVR game was conducted in an urban school in the eastern USA with 57 adolescents ages 16-18 from a…

The integration of immersive virtual reality (VR) in authentic science classrooms can result in a totally new learning experience for the students. However, the effect of such a learning experience on students' conceptual learning gains and their perceptions of the experience, while considering students' pre-existing science- and digital…

This study investigates the impact of utilizing dynamically linked concrete and abstract representations of objects in modern, virtual electric circuit laboratories on the cognitive evolution and the representational fluency of high school students. The students (N = 27, aged 16-17) were randomly divided into two classes: the first class used a…

Virtual presence describes a users' perception of a virtual reality (VR) environment (VRE), specifically, of their "involvement" (sense of control within a virtual environment with minimal distractions) and "immersion" (multi-input sensory engagement providing apparent realism of objects and interactions). In education, virtual…

Teachers choosing between different models to facilitate students' understanding of an abstract system must decide whether to adopt a model that is simplified and striking or one that is realistic and complex. Only recently have instructional technologies enabled teachers and learners to change presentations swiftly and to provide for learning…