Explore the influences of AR-supported simulation on mutual engagement of social interaction in face-to-face collaborative learning for physics

Abstract

As more technologies are integrated with collaborative learning, the mediating functions of technologies on shaping patterns of social interaction in learning activities have received considerable attention in recent years. Mutual engagement of social interaction, being a relational aspect of socially constructing knowledge, is identified as a communication issue to address the efficacy of developing mutual understanding among participants in collaborative learning. Recognized the great potential of AR technology in supporting collaborative learning, this research directs at investigating the influences of an AR-supported simulation on mutual engagement of social interaction in face-to-face collaborative learning for physics. Equality and mutuality of engagement of social interaction serve as two dimensions for measuring mutual engagement of social interaction. 30 pairs of students collaboratively solve the physics problem about elastic collision in one of the three experimental conditions: paper-based, 2D-based or AR-based. The results reveal that the AR-supported simulation does not only possess shared capacities of traditional 2D-supported simulation for promoting the equality and mutuality of engagement of social interaction, but also furthers the enhancement in the mutuality of engagement of social interaction through increasing elaborations and reducing acceptances. Characterized with hybrid attributes of the virtual reality and the real world, the AR-supported simulation enables to motivate collaborators¿ mutual engagement in building shared understanding of knowledge by delivering enriched personal experience. This study contributes to the research on the social process of CSCL and provides evidence for supporting the promise of AR technology in enhancing face-to-face collaborative learning for physics.