Augmented reality practices in geography teaching: An action research

It It has been seen that many studies have been carried out on the speed and permanence of learning and the effects of the use of materials on the students in geography teaching, and it has been determined that the use of materials makes very important contributions. In addition to the traditional materials used in geography teaching, new material types, including technology-based, have started to emerge in recent years. One of these new materials is augmented reality applications, which have started to be used in many fields and whose use in various fields of education has been found to have positive contributions. With this study, it was tried to determine the usability of augmented reality applications in geography teaching. The sample augmented reality applications developed in this study, which was carried out with the action research method, were applied in the classrooms for a total of eight weeks. The normal course flow was continued in the control groups simultaneously with the geography courses, the content of which was enriched with augmented reality applications. An achievement test and an attitude scale were administered to the experimental and control groups as a pre-test before the application, the post-test in the first lesson after the application ended, and a retention test 4 weeks after the application ended. In addition to the quantitative data, the students were asked to write diaries about the geography lessons enriched with augmented reality applications in order to obtain the qualitative data for the application and to reveal the original views. During the application, the researcher who carried out the application noted his own observations and diaries. After the application, face-to-face interviews were conducted with the students in the experimental group and selected with the purposeful sampling technique, and the answers to the questions in the student interview form were obtained. The quantitative data obtained from the research were analyzed in the SPSS package program and the results were supported by the researcher's comments. The qualitative data obtained from the research, on the other hand, were analyzed by the researcher and the results were blended with the comments of the researcher and combined with the quantitative results, the general result was reached. As a result of this, it was determined that the geography lessons enriched with augmented reality applications did not have a significant effect on the academic success of the students except for small differences in the experimental and control groups, while the increase in the positive attitude towards the geography attitude created a significant difference in the experimental groups. Findings in the same direction were obtained from the results of the data including student diaries, student interview forms and researcher observations and diaries. It was observed that the students in the experimental group liked the geography lessons, the content of which was enriched with augmented reality applications, in general very much and they looked forward to the lessons, their interest in geography increased during and after the lesson, and these applications contributed significantly to geography teaching by changing the perspective on geography in a positive way. Based on the positive effects of augmented reality applications on geography teaching, it has been suggested as a result of the study that these applications should be applied in all geography lessons in a more professional way and with a centralized system.