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Abstract The advancement of technologies has promoted the increasing popularity and integration of mobile technologies in science education in the past decade. These trends have led to an increased interest among scholars to understand the effects of mobile technologies in science education and whether those effects differ depending on how mobile technologies are used in learning and teaching (eg, student‐led, teacher‐led, collaborative). In this study, we performed a meta‐analysis of 34 studies that directly examined the effects of users' pedagogical role on K‐16 students' achievement in science when engaging in mobile learning (ML). The analysis of the 34 studies yielded an overall significant main effect of ML on K‐16 science learning outcomes. We applied the mixed‐effects model with moderator variables and found that users' pedagogical role significantly moderated the ML effects as a whole. Collaborative and student‐led uses had a statistically significant impact on student science learning, whereas teacher‐led use did not. Findings from this meta‐analysis are consistent with prior research, providing synthesized research‐based evidence of the effects of ML on science learning that holds implications for both mobile curriculum design and mobile technology use. Practitioner notes What is already known about this topic Mobile technology has been increasingly adopted in science learning with great potential to support learning and teaching. Prior meta‐analysis has suggested multiple moderators in measuring the mobile learning effect. Prior empirical studies examined the effect of mobile users' pedagogical role in the specific subject domains (eg, physics) and grade levels (eg, high school). What this paper adds This meta‐analysis is among the first to examine the moderator effect of mobile users' pedagogical roles on ML in K‐16 science education. This study found that mobile technology use is associated with significant science learning outcomes across 34 studies. This study found that the effect of mobile learning was moderated by mobile users' pedagogical roles (ie, who initiated the use). Collaborative use between teachers and students tends to be the most effective. Teacher‐led use tends to be the least effective. Implications for practice This study suggests that we should consider who leads the use of mobile technology when integrating mobile learning in science education. In particular, educators should encourage collaborative and student‐led mobile use for learning and instruction.
Shi et al. (Fri,) studied this question.