The Effect of Augmented Reality Technology on Environmental Thinking, Environmental Behavior and Attitude toward Environment Variables in Science Lesson

Abstract

The use of technology in science learning is quite common. One of these widely used technologies is Augmented reality (AR) technology. This research was purposed to examine the effectiveness of AR technology on students' attitudes, thinking, and behaviors toward the environment and to examine the relationship between these variables. The research will have a meaningful context in the literature as it supports raising individuals with positive behaviors, thinking, and attitudes toward the environment. The research process was arranged according to the quasi-experimental design's pre and post-test control group model. It was conducted with an experiment and a control group. While AR technology was used in the experimental group, it was applied to the existing program in the control group. The sample consisted of 53 participants in the 5th grade, which are 27 students in the Control group and 26 in the Experimental group. In the study, data was collected with the environmental attitude scale. MANOVA and correlation coefficient analyzed data collected in the context of research. The results showed that using AR positively contributes to secondary school students' attitudes, thinking, and behaviors toward the environment. In addition, it was determined that there were positive or negative relationships between some of the environmental attitudes, behavior, and thinking variables in the experimental and control groups. According to the research results, it is recommended to utilize AR technology in lessons to raise individuals who develop positive thinking, behaviors, and attitudes towards the environment within the context of secondary school science lessons.