Can mixed reality (MR) make a difference in service learning?

Abstract

Service-learning (S-L) is one of the important educations that combines academic study with community service and reflection elements in tertiary. Service learning projects can benefit many different areas such as the public sector, non-profit and government agencies, etc. Despite the Hong Kong Government now putting much effort into promoting STEM education, carrying out S-L in local secondary schools is not common in Hong Kong, especially in teaching Secondary School students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) knowledge. Mixed reality (MR) is known as hybrid reality which not only merges the real and virtual worlds into a new environment, but also allows users to interact with the digital content dynamically in real time. This study aims to investigate whether the use of MR can make a difference in service learning by measuring students’ learning performance in secondary schools. We measure their ability in understanding three-dimensional (3-D) geometric and fundamental geometric mathematics. The results have shown that with the aid of MR, secondary students not only show a stronger motivation in participating in the S-L lesson, but the test results on basic geometric mathematics were also improved.