Comparison of AR Training Effectiveness Based on Directive Instruction and Productive Failure Teaching Theories: A Case Study in Fire Safety

Effective fire safety training is critical to mitigating property losses and human injuries and deaths. Augmented Reality (AR) is an emerging solution for safety training, offering a dynamic and interactive learning environment. Despite the emergence of various AR training prototypes demonstrating potential advantages, there is limited research on how teaching theories impact the efficacy of augmented reality. This study aims to integrate and test two teaching theories, directive instruction and productive failure, into AR-based fire safety training. Two novel AR prototypes, directive instruction training and productive failure training, were designed and prototyped in this work. These two prototypes were tested in a controlled experiment involving 68 participants. A comparison was carried out, focusing on knowledge acquisition, knowledge retention, intrinsic motivation, and self-efficacy. The results indicate that productive failure training has better performance in enhancing knowledge acquisition and knowledge retention. However, both prototypes perform equally in the overall learning experience. As such, these findings offer valuable insights into future augmented reality development for safety training.