When Augmentations Compete with Manipulatives: Exploring Augmented Reality in Early Mathematics Activities

Early mathematical activities often combine symbolic representations of numbers with physical manipulatives (e.g., numicons, dice, cards) that help children represent quantities. However, children with mathematical difficulties often struggle to relate abstract representations (number symbols) to their physical counterparts (manipulatives). In close collaboration with mathematics education experts, we explored how Augmented Reality (AR) can complement existing educational materials rather than replace them. We designed an AR system that augments existing exercises and conducted a pilot study with 10 children solving addition tasks. Our observations suggest that children enjoyed and successfully used the AR augmentations to complete the tasks. However, the AR system also created undesired side-effect such as an overreliance on the virtual augmentations. We discuss design implications for how AR systems can better complement established educational materials and support the learning of calculation-based arithmetic strategies.