Prior knowledge plays a crucial role in learning in STEM education. The potential interplay between components of the prior knowledge, such as representational competence and conceptual understanding, remains remarkably underexplored. Even less is known about how these relationships unfold in augmented reality (AR)-supported learning environments, which offer unique affordances, such as visualizing the invisible, that may shape the role of prior knowledge in new ways. Using a sample of N = 203 high school students, we examined how prior knowledge of physics concepts and representations influenced subsequent knowledge of both concepts and representations in AR-supported and traditional learning environments. Learners in the AR condition acquired more conceptual knowledge than those in the traditional condition. A cross-lagged path analysis revealed a consistent, unidirectional relationship from prior representational competence to subsequent conceptual knowledge, when controlling for prior conceptual knowledge for both instructional conditions. These results indicate that representational competence is a robust predictor of conceptual learning, independently of the learning environment. • The role of different types of prior knowledge in shaping the conceptual learning was examined. • Representational competence predicts conceptual learning in both AR and traditional learning environments. • The AR group showed a greater learning outcome. • AR supports conceptual learning but relies on prior representational competence.
Zoya et al. (Fri,) studied this question.