Impact of Augmented Reality On Programming Education In Engineering

This study aims to analyze the academic performance and perception of augmented reality (AR) use among students in engineering programs, comparing a control group and an experimental group in the context of programming education. This study involved students enrolled in programming courses from the Computer Science Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Electronic Engineering, and Electrical Engineering programs. The experimental group engaged with a programming textbook enhanced by AR technology and a complementary mobile AR application. Instructional content included both structured programming and object-oriented programming. The control group, composed of 175 students enrolled in 2023, followed a traditional teaching methodology without the use of AR resources throughout a 19-week semester. In contrast, the experimental group consisted of 210 students enrolled in 2024, who utilized AR-based educational materials during a 19-week academic term. In addition to performance analysis, a survey was conducted to gather data on students’ perceptions regarding the use of AR in the learning process. Due to violations of assumptions required for parametric testing, non-parametric statistical methods specifically the Wilcoxon and Brunner-Munzel tests were employed to evaluate student outcomes. The results indicate that the experimental group achieved significantly higher academic performance compared to the control group, suggesting that AR-enhanced instructional tools can positively impact learning effectiveness in programming courses.