The effects of augmented reality-based storybooks on the reading comprehension skills, reading anxiety, and mental image clarity of 4th grade students

Augmented reality is a technology that combines the physical world with the digital environment to create a more holistic visual environment and provide rich content. Users often use a smartphone, tablet, glasses or other device to create additional information or visual configurations as they observe through the real world. For example, a smartphone app can provide richer information and more fun learning environments for children reading books. Augmented reality applications have started to be widely used in the field of education in Turkey as well as all over the world. In many courses such as visual arts, mathematics and science, students are provided with the opportunity to see the terms, pictures and concepts they see in books or worksheets in three dimensions with an internet-connected tool. The main purpose of this study is to examine the effect of augmented reality-based storybooks on 4th grade students' reading comprehension skills, reading anxiety and mental image clarity. In this study, which was carried out with a pretest-posttest paired control group quasi-experimental design from quantitative research methods, the study group consisted of 40 4th grade students studying in two different village schools in Mardin Artuklu in the 2023-2024 academic year. In the study, 20 experimental group and 20 control group students were randomly assigned. In the data collection process, the "Reading Anxiety Scale" developed by Çeliktürk and Yamaç (2015) will be used. This scale consists of 29 items with a five-point Likert-type structure. Then, in order to measure the students' reading comprehension skills, the "Reading Comprehension Skills Scale", which was developed by the researcher after reviewing the relevant literature and conducting various researches, will be applied. In converting the students' responses to this scale into standard scores, the scoring key developed by Akyol (2006) will be used according to the cognitive level of the questions. Finally, in order to measure mental image clarity, the "Sheveland Mental Image Clarity Scale for 3rd-6th Grade Students" developed by Dawn E. Sheveland (1992) and adapted into Turkish by Mustafa Kocaarslan (2017) will be used. Sheveland Mental Image Clarity Scale for 3rd-6th Grade Students" will be used. In the data analysis phase, SPSS 22.0 package program, descriptive statistics, one-way analysis of variance, and related samples t-test will be used for pre-test (PT) and post-test (post-test) scores.