Augmenting reality via head-mounted displays (HMD-AR) is an emerging technology in education. The interactivity provided by HMD-AR devices is particularly promising for learning, but presents a challenge to human activity recognition, especially with children. Recent technological advances regarding speech and gesture recognition concerning Microsoft’s HoloLens 2 may address this prevailing issue. In a within-subjects study with 47 elementary school children (2nd to 6th grade), we examined the usability of the HoloLens 2 using a standardized tutorial on multimodal interaction in AR. The overall system usability was rated “good”. However, several behavioral metrics indicated that specific interaction modes differed in their efficiency. The results are of major importance for the development of learning applications in HMD-AR as they partially deviate from previous findings. In particular, the well-functioning recognition of children’s voice commands that we observed represents a novelty. Furthermore, we found different interaction preferences in HMD-AR among the children. We also found the use of HMD-AR to have a positive effect on children’s activity-related achievement emotions. Overall, our findings can serve as a basis for determining general requirements, possibilities, and limitations of the implementation of educational HMD-AR environments in elementary school classrooms.

The present work reviews and summarizes results of tracing studies up to the present and collects different explanations for found effects of pointing and tracing while learning as an effective touch-based action method. Two explanations are focused finally in order to test them in the presented eye-tracking study. The study (N = 90) with a three-group experimental design investigated whether learners benefit from pointing compared to learners using tracing or no-touch-based action method (pointing vs. tracing vs. no touch). The results replicate previous findings demonstrating benefits of using the hands for learning and provide additional support for the hypothesis that fingers support learning by directing attention. This is due to the fact that the learning group using pointing outperformed, especially in comprehension performance, the no-touch learning group and the learning group that used tracing actions. Eye-movement analysis indicated that the pointing group profited from a higher focus of visual attention and more intense cognitive activity. The question of why the tracing group did not show this same benefit is discussed by considering previous studies and the limitations of the present study. It seems as if the present study does not replicate a previous study. However, when reflecting on the different control group design, the present study delivers additional information on how using fingers affects learning. Moreover, new perspectives with explanations from the review are integrated for interpreting and discussing the presented results and opened herewith for further research on touch-based actions in the frame of movement and learning.

The present study introduces a multidimensional approach to describing the composition of reflections, addressing previous inconsistencies in operationalization. The multidimensional approach was empirically explored in comparison to unidimensional reflection quality measures and examined in relation to reflection-related dispositions. Given the challenges of promoting reflection in teachers’ daily practice, low-threshold interventions—repeated practice and structuring prompts—were investigated regarding their potential to foster reflective competence. Using an integrated model of reflection, five proposed dimensions—describing, evaluating, naming alternatives, justification, and self-reference—were identified and assessed alongside the quality measures reflection depth and breadth, and holistic grading. N = 29 teachers reflected verbally on two teaching videos, first openly and then with structuring prompts. The transcribed reflections underwent qualitative and evaluative content analysis to extract quantitative data. Compared to existing quality measures, the multidimensional approach provided deeper insights into the complexity of the reflections. The correlations between different approaches to reflection measurement and the reflection-related dispositions were only partially as expected. While repeated practice did not yield a training effect, structuring prompts improved reflection quality. Overall, the findings confirm the usefulness of the multidimensional approach as a valuable means to describe the composition of reflections and highlight its potential for quality measurement.

Graphs are essential representations in the professions and education concerning the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. Beyond their academic relevance, graphs find extensive utility in everyday scenarios, ranging from news media to educational materials. The ability to understand graphs is connected to the ability to create graphs. In school education, particularly in STEM subjects, not only the understanding but also the skill of constructing graphs from numerical data is emphasized. Although constructing graphs is a skill that most people do not require in their everyday lives and professions, it is a well-established student activity that has been empirically studied several times. To provide an overview of the empirical literature on this important topic, our systematic review identifies how the construction of convention-based graphical representations of numerical data, referred to as graphing, has been studied in previous research, how effective graphing is, and which types of difficulties are encountered by students. Based on these aspects, we defined inclusion criteria that led to 54 peer-reviewed empirical studies on graphing in K–12 STEM education found in SCOPUS, ERIC, and PsychInfo. Graphing instruction seemed to be beneficial for student learning, not only improving graph construction but also graph interpretation skills. However, the students experienced various difficulties during graphing, both during graph construction and the interpretation and usage of data. The review’s results indicate that students could benefit from an in-depth analysis of authentic data during graphing.