Results from a Study for Teaching Human Body Systems to Primary School Students Using Tablets

Year 2018, Volume: 9 Issue: 2, 154 - 170, 16.04.2018

Emmanuel Fokides Aikaterini Mastrokoukou

https://doi.org/10.30935/cet.414808

Cited By: 3

Abstract

The paper
presents the results from a study which
examined whether tablets together with a mobile application with augmented
reality features can help students to better understand the functions of the
respiratory and the circulatory system. The target group was 75 sixth-grade
primary school students, divided into three groups. The first group was taught
conventionally; students studied using a printed handbook. In the second, a
constructivist teaching model was used, but the instruction was not technologically
enhanced. The third group of students used tablets and an application, and the
teaching was based on a slightly modified version of Bybee's 5Es model. All
three groups of students worked in pairs, they were taught the same learning
material, and the teacher acted as a facilitator of the process. Data were
collected by means of a questionnaire and evaluation sheets. Results indicated
that students in the third group outperformed students in the other two groups.
The results can be attributed to students' enjoyment, motivation, and positive
attitude towards the use of tablets as well as to the teaching method. The
study's implications are also discussed. 

Keywords

Augmented reality, Circulatory system, Mobile applications, Tablet computers

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