Dimensionality and Dynamicity Matter in Geometry Learning: Comparing Augmented Reality, Tablets, Manipulatives, and Diagrams

• In Event: Immersive Technologies in Education: Enhancing Learning Through VR, AR, and Robotics

Abstract

This study examines how modality influences high school students’ geometric reasoning across four conditions: augmented reality (AR), iPad-based dynamic geometry software, physical manipulatives, and paper diagrams. Seventy-two students, working in pairs, evaluated geometric conjectures and completed individual post-tests coded for intuition, insight, generalization, and use of drawings. Results show that AR consistently outperformed other modalities, yielding the highest levels of intuition, insight, and generalization. AR students also drew diagrams more frequently, suggesting enhanced mental model formation. Findings indicate that dynamicity, 3D dimensionality, and embodied interaction in AR foster deeper reasoning and visualization than static or less immersive tools, offering practical implications for integrating AR in mathematics education.

Authors

• Julianna Washington-Henderson, Southern Methodist University

• Candace A. Walkington, Southern Methodist University