augmented, assessed, addressed: reframing the curricula for first year stem students
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Using Augmented Reality to engage STEM students with
an authentic curriculumDr. Mike Hobbs, Department of Computing and Technology
Anglia Ruskin [email protected]
Dr. Debbie Holley, Centre for Excellence in Learning, Bournemouth University
The Personal Development Portfolio ‘PDP’ Overview of PDP
Provides skills and personal educational development. Promotes higher level learning and career planning Supports Pro-active, independent, autonomous, learners Provide a base level for skills in :
note taking, group work, research, referencing, presentations,
Policy context Quality Assurance Agency for HE in the UK require
institutions to provide personal development planning1. UK needs more technically qualified students in ‘STEM’
subjects2 Technically qualified students often lack key
employability skills3.
Motivation for this research‘STEM’ Students
• Computer Science and Computer Gaming Technology Technically able but lacking broader soft skills
• End of year course reviews identified issues of poor engagement with PDP classes and curriculumBut informal discussion showed awareness of the importance of soft skills for employability.
Approach• Provide a collaborative learning framework (drawing
on Vygotsky’s theories of proximal development)• Create the context for the independent, autonomous
development of skills (with suitable scaffolding)
Augmented Reality ‘mini project’Why AR?
• Promising area in education technology• Relevance to computer game developers - “authentic
task”• Available ’end user’ development tools• Simple development process • Suitable for BOYD and teaching in conventional
classrooms• Requires a team based approach
What Students had to do:• Form groups, record meetings, post to group blog• Research and post comment on one relevant paper each.• Plan, design and create AR artefacts for group logo and a• Group presentation on their project
Framework / Scaffolding In Class – a ‘flipped’ approach
• Introduced topics, reviewed available materials. • Discussed progress on project and reflections on
the readings / tasks.• Group presentations to class.• Students provided their own evidence for key
‘PDP’ assessment criteria.
Student work• Free to choose members and organize group work• Free to interpret ‘Treasure Hunt’ theme• Free to use buildings, signs, images across
campus and locality
Nerds with AttitudeWord Game• Pre-drawn triggers
were hidden around a house
• Each trigger gave an Aura showing a single letter
• Participants put letters together to make a word
• Managed project work online using Trello
“The first thing we decided to do was to find a way to communicate between the group in case any of us were unable to meet up…”
Horizon Treasure Hunt• Auras provide clues • Users collected a
code word from each location.
• Locations around campus and local area were used.
“The importance of teamwork cannot be stressed enough, teamwork is the most fundamental aspect ..if we had not worked as a team we could have failed…”
If you want to find more you find directions on the floor,but for that little matter, It’s a symbol for a letter!
The Fighting Peacocks
Campus Tour• Campus navigation
aid• Using audio media
and QR codes as triggers.
• Created a test grid for results
• Mutual testing of applications were useful.
‘(We )tested another groups game, the results were very positive’
Initial ResultsWas Aurasma Easy to use?
2014/5 79%, 2015/6 71%• Free text comments point to more problems with a
more diverse set of BYOD devices• More Challenging task
Only 24% thought the task could be more challenging this year compared with 64% last year.
Did the AR project help my PDP?2014/5 69%, 2015/6 79%
• Tasks better oriented to PDP skills
“Got PDP done in an easy way, work completed without realizing it.”
“Group work was a really good part”
Higher rates of
completion of PDP for
2nd year
References [1] QAA (2009). Personal development planning: guidance for institutional policy and practice in higher education, The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education. http://www.qaa.ac.uk/en/Publications/Documents/Personal-development-planning-guidance-for-institutional-policy-and-practice-in-higher-education.pdf [2] House of Lords (2012). House of Lords Select Committee Report Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) subjects (2012) http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201213/ldselect/ldsctech/37/37.pdf.[3] CBI/Pearson (2013). Changing the pace – Education and Skills Survey. http://www.cbi.org.uk/media/2119176/education_and_skills_survey_2013.pdf.