The Hologram As a Teaching Medium for the Acquisition of STEM Contents

Int. J. Learning Technology, Vol. 13, No. 2, 2018 163 The hologram as a teaching medium for the acquisition of STEM contents L. Orcos* Facultad de Educación, Universidad Internacional de La Rioja, Spain Email: [email protected] *Corresponding author Á.A. Magreñán Escuela Superior de Ingeniería y Tecnología, Universidad Internacional de La Rioja, Logroño, Spain Email: [email protected] Abstract: The aim of the work presented in this article is to assess whether the use of a hologram enhances the meaningful learning of cellular division contents. A pilot phase has been carried out with a sample of students of 4th course of high school education in the town of Logroño, Spain, working with a control group in a traditional way and an experimental group with the use of the hologram. A test of knowledge about cell division contents was answered so as to know if there were significant differences between the results obtained by the two groups. The statistic U of Mann-Whitney of the non-parametric mean comparison test showed that there is a significant difference of 2.55 points, at 0.05 level, between results obtained in both groups. Moreover, there was also assessed the level of motivation and satisfaction when using the tool for the purpose of knowing their opinion for the future use and development of the tool. The results obtained lead us to consider the hologram as a potential teaching medium as well as a highly motivational tool. Keywords: meaningful learning; cellular division; holographic tool; U of Mann-Whitney test. Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Orcos, L. and Magreñán, Á.A. (2018) ‘The hologram as a teaching medium for the acquisition of STEM contents’, Int. J. Learning Technology, Vol. 13, No. 2, pp.163–177. Biographical notes: L. Orcos studied her degree in chemistry at the University of La Rioja and degree in Biochemistry at the University of Salamanca. She received her Master’s in Teacher Training at the University of La Rioja and Master’s in Science and Chemical Technology at the National University of Distance Education. She is currently studying PhD in Mathematics Didactics and working in the Faculty of Education of the International University of La Rioja. She is a member of the Group of Mathematics Applied to Problems of Engineering (MAPPING). Copyright © 2018 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd. 164 L. Orcos and Á.A. Magreñán Á.A. Magreñán studied his degree in mathematics at the University of La Rioja and degree in Computer Engineering at the University of La Rioja. He received his Master’s in Teacher Training at the University of La Rioja and PhD in Mathematics and working in the School of Engineering of the International University of La Rioja. He is the lead investigator of the Group of Mathematics Applied to Problems of Engineering (MAPPING). 1 Introduction The importance of science in society requires that teaching methods used in classrooms encourage meaningful learning based on competency achievement. For this reason, sciences concepts have to be taught in such a way that arouse the interest of students in understanding the phenomena contemplated in the world around us. The Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) pedagogical methodology in the classroom is crucial as it aims to approach interdisciplinary learning based on project resolution. This type of methodology brings important benefits when carried out in an appropriate way, since it allows transferring the knowledge and skills of the student to the real world in which they live, conferring meaningful learning in which motivation plays a very important role. As Ocaña (2015) mentions, STEM education has been developed as a methodology for the integrated teaching of science and technology from an interdisciplinary point of view taking into account the importance of the engineering approach based on the development of knowledge focused on the real technological problem solving. As Ocaña comments, the benefits of a STEM educational system are the transference of knowledge and skills to real-world problems, the increase of motivation to learn, the long-term retention of contents learned and the improvement of subsequent knowledge-related learning. It should be noted that the current boom in the use of this methodology is mainly due to the gradual decline of students to choose science and engineering careers, fact that puts at risk the future of innovation in these fields. Concretely, at about 12 years of age, when students go from primary education stage to secondary education stage, is when a general school failure, lack of motivation and lack of interest in the subjects begin to appear. In science learning, a goal of researches is to learn about difficulties in students experience when trying to understand the concepts due to the fact that the frustration is translated into lack of motivation and decrease in the academical results (Zeidan, 2010; Cimer, 2012; García et al., 2015). In this sense, the fourth course of secondary education is crucial as it is when students have to decide whether they continue with their science studies or not in the Baccalaureate. It is in this moment when students first see deeper concepts related to biology and as Tekkaya et al. (2001) mentions, genes and chromosomes, mitosis and meiosis and Mendelian genetics are considered as difficult concepts for them. In the case of cellular biology, the concepts of photosynthesis, respiration, genetics and cellular division are the ones that present the most difficulties. Some examples directly related to cell division are found in the studies of Banet and Ayuso (2000), who concluded that students considered the hereditary information to be just found in the sex The hologram as a teaching medium for the acquisition of STEM contents 165 chromosomes, or that the sexual chromosomes are just found in the gametes (Banet, 2000) or the difficulty when understanding meiosis and relating it to the process of gametes formation (Ibañez and Martínez, 2005). The study carried out by Íñiguez and Puigcerver (2013) based on a methodology to favour the conceptual change in students, concludes that it is necessary to use three-dimensional models and referents as close as possible to the student to enhance their meaningful learning. In the case of mitosis and meiosis, they allude that their study has to be related, focusing more on the global biological meaning than on discerning what happens at each stage of both processes due to fact that if the global process is not understood, even less would the phases. In the case of mitosis, the authors recommend starting from a zygote and explaining the process of cell growth by splitting genetic material between the daughter cells to come to understand that all cells obtained by this process need to be the same. In the case of meiosis, it should be focused from the point of view of the variability between individuals so as to understand that the gametes are haploid cells. As technology advances exponentially and acquires new educational applications, it is crucial to take into account how it gives a new meaning to learning. In this context, the potential of the hologram in training programs is undeniable especially in science contents learning. The hologram was invented in 1947 by Dennis Gabor, who won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1971. The idea consists of a three-dimensional photograph executed with a laser beam through an object so that a second ray is projected onto the reflection of light of the first ray, allowing to obtain three-dimensional optical images. It can be explained that although this technique is not new, the illusory effect that it transmits has become very popular. There have been advances in the holographic projection related with the visual improvement of the technique ‘Pepper’s Ghost’ that was developed in the mid-19th century. Nowadays, this technique is applied with improvements in the quality projection of the image and binocular vision, which makes it an animated hologram almost real to the original. The technique ‘Pepper’s Ghost’ is based on the fact that the viewer is in the main room but he or she cannot see that there is a compartment hidden under the stage, place where the actor is located. On the top there is a glass or reflecting surface that shows the floating and ‘ghostly’ figure of the actor, as a result of receiving the light that impacts on it and reflects on the surface located on the stage. The room, where the person or object to be projected is placed, should be dark, preferably black, to highlight luminous colours on the reflecting surface. The prisms are also based on the same ‘Pepper’s Ghost’ technique, with the difference that just a reflective surface is placed on top of a monitor or screen so that the image is seen on the surface. The animated video should have a black background colour so that the image is projected and appears to be floating. The study of Serra et al. (2009) establishes a pedagogical foundation of how the hologram is a teaching medium considering that it is supported by the principles of general pedagogy. As this study concludes, the student has the feeling that this object is present and he or she is more predisposed towards learning. There are three factors that allow to argue this fact: a The possibility of such observation facilitates the mental representation and the formation of concepts, laws, etc. 166 L. Orcos and Á.A. Magreñán b It allows to obtain the representations based on the relationships between the form and the content. c Students are able to establish conceptual relationship both of individual and collective character. Likewise, their motivational potential is projected in the possibility of generating learning contexts among equals that encourage the creation of a shared work environment (Pozo and Monereo, 2009).

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