Used in science course augmented reality supported activities students' 21st century ski̇lls and examining the effect of augmented reality on attitudes

This study aimed to investigate the impact of augmented reality (AR) supported activities in the Science course on middle school students' 21st-century skills and their attitudes towards AR. Augmented reality, which is increasingly integrated into education as well as various other fields, formed the basis of the intervention. The research was conducted within the "Earth and Universe" learning area at the 5th, 6th, and 7th grade levels in middle school Science. In the study, explanatory sequential design from mixed method research was used. The sample consisted of students from a secondary school under the Ministry of National Education in a district of Afyonkarahisar. Group A classes were randomly assigned as the experimental group, while Group B classes served as the control group. In total, 96 students participated: 57 in the experimental group and 39 in the control group. For the experimental group, activities enriched with AR applications were implemented, whereas the control group covered the Earth and Universe units using traditional teaching methods. The intervention lasted 4 weeks, with a total of 18 instructional hours. As data collection tools, the Augmented Reality Scale and the 21st-Century Skills Scale were administered to both groups before and after the intervention. The data were analyzed using the SPSS software package. A structured interview form with open-ended questions was used to support the quantitative data of the research. The findings obtained at the end of the implementation process, while varying by grade level, revealed significant improvements in 21st-century skills in favor of the experimental group, while no significant difference was observed in the change in students' attitudes toward augmented reality. This suggests that while students' interactions with technology improve their skills, attitudinal change may require longer-term or more diverse practices. Structured interviews with students revealed that augmented reality-supported activities are appropriate for science courses and are important for concretizing the course. It was concluded that augmented reality-supported activities significantly facilitate learning, are effective in increasing knowledge retention, and also save time.