The Impact of Using Augmented Reality Applications in Enhancing the Learning of Astronomy for Fifth-Grade Elementary Students in Jerusalem Schools

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the impact of using augmented reality applications (Astronomical Applications and Telescope use) in improving the learning of astronomy for fifth grade students in Jerusalem city schools. It also aimed to compare the level of student achievement between a control group that used the traditional method and another that used augmented reality applications, and to reveal the opinions and attitudes of students about the impact of using augmented reality applications after applying the study tools, and to reveal the opinions and attitudes of social studies teachers for the fifth grade after using augmented reality applications. To achieve these goals, the researcher used the quasi-experimental approach to the study sample of three schools in the city of Jerusalem, consisting of (64) male and female students from the fifth grade, where the researcher used a pre and post achievement test to measure the impact of using augmented reality applications, and the researcher also used the quantitative descriptive approach to analyze and measure the attitudes and opinions of students after using augmented reality applications by distributing a questionnaire to students, and the researcher also used the qualitative descriptive approach to analyze and measure the attitudes of teachers after using augmented reality applications by conducting personal interviews. The results showed a clear improvement in the performance of students with statistically significant differences between the arithmetic averages in the post-test in favor of using augmented reality applications, where the results were clearly superior to females over males in the pre and post-test, while the interaction of male students was high and increased their achievement in the post-exam clearly from the pre-exam after using augmented reality applications, The results also showed that the percentage of positive effects of augmented reality applications according to the opinions and attitudes of students was high after applying the study tools, and the students' answers showed that there was no difficulty in imagining the planets and celestial bodies and in imagining how night and day occur and in imagining how the four seasons occur, and (73.8%) of students believe that these technologies have increased their desire to learn more astronomy lessons, while the results of the interviews showed that the trends of social studies teachers were positive about the impact of using augmented reality applications in teaching the astronomy lesson to fifth grade students in the city of Jerusalem in terms of impact on students, their interaction and evaluation. In light of the results of the study, the researcher recommends the need to employ and include augmented reality applications in the curricula of teaching astronomy for the fifth grade to improve and increase the ability of students to understand and imagine astronomical concepts better in the astronomy lesson, such as the relationship between the movement of the Earth and the four seasons, day and night, the Earth's orbit and the planets of the solar system, after watching texts and video clips in an interactive simulation manner and using augmented reality applications.