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Figure 3. Campus quads and soccer fields filled with undergraduates during field-testing of aug- did not measure a change in student moti-
mented reality field trips with students exposing their digital devices to, and working through, vation or interest after an intervention.
conditions far more challenging than the normal lab room activity. Clockwise from top left: persis-
tent heavy rain on a campus with topography, bright and sunny at 114° F on a soccer field, high Furthermore, the improvement in stu-
winds and snow at 10° F on a campus quad, and dusk with bleacher obstacles during a night class dent interest irrespective of site classifica-
on the soccer field. tion group suggests that the modules are
impactful regardless of teacher, type of
toward learning the geosciences: interest in learning geoscience material institution, class size, or geographic loca-
(1) GeoIS pre-intervention score at both this AR field trip experience provides, tion. These findings are in contrast with
the student and the site level; (2) being a because interest has been shown to be Chang et al. (2014), who found students
STEM major; and (3) the number of AR the best predictor of students pursuing had increased persistence (less attrition) at
field trip modules students are exposed to additional classes in a subject area research universities and increased motiva-
and complete (bolded in Table 3). The (Harackiewicz et al., 2000; Hall et al., tion at liberal arts colleges over public uni-
third predictor variable is of utmost 2011; Gilbert et al., 2012). versities and community colleges. Chang
importance to the study because this find- et al. (2014) used large scale survey data to
ing shows that interest gains associated Exposure to and completion of all three track student persistence in a STEM field
with students completing all three AR mobile AR field trips had a significant from their freshman year to four years into
field trips (Table 3: 3 × 1.72 = 5.16) are impact on student interest to learn the geo- their undergraduate education; thus, these
more than twice the gains associated with sciences. Specifically, HLM results indi- authors also did not assess a change after
being a STEM major (Table 3: 2.18). Note cate that completion of one single module an intervention.
that each of the values shown in bold in increases student interest almost as much
Table 3 represents a point value gain (out as does being a STEM major. Completion Are these AR Grand Canyon field trips
of 70) on the GeoIS post-intervention. of two or three AR field trips further useful in comparison to real on-location
builds this interest. field trips? The gains in student interest
DISCUSSION are expected (and desired), in part because
The following factors were not at all of the game-like design of the field trip
The AR field trip modules tested in this significant: race, gender, and site classifi- modules and in part because of the interac-
study incorporate within their design two cation. These results indicate that the AR tive out-of-the-classroom experience, emu-
fundamental field-trip features, primarily field trips were effective despite variation lating a real field trip. Geoscience educa-
orienteering and physically moving in student demographics, which is similar tors have long known that field trips are
between geo-referenced field trip loca- to Gilbert et al. (2012), who found no vari- major attractors of students to the science,
tions. The nature of this design allows for ation in student motivation across gender and with ubiquitous smartphones, mobile
the “get out of the classroom and contem- or ethnicity in introductory geology technology, games, and apps for every-
plate geology with your peers” component classes. Note that the study conducted by thing, it is not surprising to find that this
of the field experience to be had by all, Gilbert et al. (2012) was based on a single medium appeals to the current generation
even if just on a campus quad or soccer MSLQ survey of students at multiple insti- of undergraduates. The AR field trips are
field (Fig. 3). The focus of this research tutions to ascertain who is enrolled in flexible enough to be used during a lecture
was to determine what impact on student introductory geology courses and why they period, a lab period, as homework, or as
are enrolled in those classes; the authors supplementary activities for online learn-
ing. One could oversimplify the hypothesis
and purpose of this research by saying that
since field trips are fun and games are fun,
of course gamified-augmented-reality–field
trips are fun! Consequently, if the students
are having fun while learning the course
material, there is an expectation that their
level of interest and motivation to pursue
study in the field will increase. In the face
of economic, geographic, and/or accessi-
bility issues that some institutions face that
are prohibitive of field trips, the AR field
trips are an affordable and easily imple-
mented solution.

CONCLUSIONS

Gilbert et al. (2012) state that many post-
secondary geoscience educators rank stu-
dent motivation as the most important
indicator for student learning. This study
presents a solution not only for increasing
student interest and engagement in the

8 GSA Today | June 2017