Engaging Young Minds: How Smart Augmented Reality Glasses Transform Learning Experiences in AR smart glasses Immersive Virtual Learning Environments (AR smart glasses IVLE)

Based on Dynamic Systems Theory, this quasi-experimental study employed a single-group pretest-during-posttest design, which investigated young children’s engagement in science learning in an Augmented Reality (AR) smart glasses immersive virtual learning environment (AR smart glasses IVLE) through four domains: behavioural, academic, cognitive and social engagement. Five classroom teachers and eighty-four Grade 1/2 young children in an Australian school participated in this study. It was found that young children were highly engaged in all four domains in the AR smart glasses IVLE. In particular, the planned teaching that leveraged the unique features of AR smart glasses, such as real-time synchronising with iPads and shared visual experiences, significantly enhanced children’ social engagement and fostered collaboration, peer communication, and group participation more effectively than previously observed in iPad/tablets-based AR settings. Moreover, a new framework of the above four domains of engagement was established, and all domains of engagement, as the four factors influencing each other, were highly interconnected in the newly developed engagement framework. Among these domains, cognitive, academic, and behavioural engagements demonstrated stronger interrelationships than social engagement, suggesting that when children were intellectually stimulated and supported academically, their behavioural participation increased accordingly. This paper contributes to the advancement of engaging and immersive science learning environments for young learners, thereby supporting the development of more innovative educational futures.