The Effect of Teaching with Augmented Reality on Addressing Biology Learning Difficulties among Second-Year Secondary School Female Students in the Asir Region

This study aimed to investigate the effect of augmented reality (AR)-based teaching on addressing biology learning difficulties among second-year secondary school female students at Al-Saqqa School Complex in Asir Region, Saudi Arabia. It adopted a field-based action research methodology following the Kemmis and McTaggart cycle, using a one-group pretest–posttest quasi-experimental design. The sample consisted of 41 female students from one second-year secondary class enrolled in Biology (2-1) under the Pathways System during the 1447 AH academic year. The study instruments comprised a 24-item diagnostic achievement test covering four conceptual dimensions, a classroom engagement observation checklist, and the teacher-researcher's reflective journal. The results revealed statistically significant differences at the 0.01 level between the pretest and posttest mean scores in favor of the posttest. The overall mean score increased from 9.74 (40.6% mastery) to 20.70 (86.3% mastery), with a t-value of 24.31, a very large effect size (d = 4.85), and a Blake's modified gain ratio of 1.225. Qualitative findings also indicated improved classroom engagement and reduced task-completion time. The study recommended adopting AR applications for teaching cellular energy pathways, training biology teachers to develop 3D interactive flashcards, and incorporating augmented interactive links into school curricula.