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The Use of Mobile Learning in Science A Systematic Review (2016)
The Use of Mobile Learning in Science A Systematic Review (2016)
The Use of Mobile Learning in Science A Systematic Review (2016)
DOI 10.1007/s10956-015-9597-x
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J Sci Educ Technol
The purpose of this study is to aggregate and explore something to novice learners on a level of factual knowl-
empirical evidence of the use of mobile learning as it edge and that this new knowledge can be statistically
relates to science education. This is the first review to measured to prove the effectiveness of the teaching effort
provide a comprehensive collection of mobile learning and scientifically.
science studies to initiate an evidence-based discussion on Hung and Zhang (2012) conducted a study of mobile
mobile learning in science education. learning research trends from 2003 to 2008. Text mining
techniques were used to provide basic bibliometric statis-
tics, trends in frequency of topics, predominance of topics
Background by country, and preference for each topic by journal. The
researchers found that (1) mobile learning articles
As the field of mobile learning has developed and devices increased from eight in 2003 to 36 in 2008; (2) effective-
have advanced, there have been a number of ephemeral ness, evaluation, and personalized systems were the most
definitions of mobile learning. Earlier definitions have popular areas of study; and (3) Taiwan conducted the most
named a particular device which quickly becomes dated, or mobile learning studies.
they have been techno-centric. For example, in 2005, Hwang and Tsai (2011) conducted a study of research
Traxler defined mobile learning as ‘‘any educational pro- trends in mobile and ubiquitous learning from selected
vision where the sole or dominant technologies are hand- journals from 2001 to 2010. They found the number of
held or palmtop devices.’’ In the past decade, technologies articles published from 2005 to 2010 was nearly four times
have evolved beyond just handheld or palmtop devices. that of from 2001 to 2005. The sample groups selected for
Nonetheless, trends have emerged from these definitions study ranked as follows: higher education (59), elementary
that highlight the four central constructs of mobile learning students (41), and high school students (17). Only a few
as pedagogy, technological devices, context, and social studies selected teachers (6) and working adults (6) as the
interactions (Crompton 2013a). Aligned to these con- research sample. Their research found that most studies did
structs, Sharples et al. (2007) tentatively defined mobile not involve any learning domain, but rather, they mainly
learning as ‘‘the processes of coming to know through focused on investigation of motivation, perception, and
conversations across multiple contexts among people and attitudes of students toward mobile learning. Contributing
personal interactive technologies’’ (p. 224). This is the countries numbered 23 with Taiwan having the highest
definition selected for this article. number of publications (51).
Determining which devices are included in m-learning Liu et al. (2014) examined studies on mobile learning
has also been a topic of debate among scholars (Traxler in K-12 from 2007 to the present. They found in 63
2009). For this study, Crompton’s (2013b) criteria have studies from 15 refereed journals that research was pri-
been used (see p. 48) to define what qualifies as a mobile marily exploratory in nature and focused on understanding
device. She proffers that the device must be portable and the educational affordances of using mobile devices in
incorporate a prompt on–off button. The latter is extremely instructional practices. A survey of 114 papers from
problematic with traditional laptops, as they take a while to mLearn 2005, 2007, and 2008 conducted by Wingkvist
start and they are typically not left on standby mode to use and Ericcson (2011) investigated and compared the
quickly. For this reason, laptops were not included as research methods and research purposes of these papers.
mobile devices in this study. The papers reviewed were evenly distributed among the
As mobile learning is a relatively new field of study, research methods investigated, with one exception. There
there is a paucity of studies that collectively review and were few papers using basic research, which would allow
analyze mobile learning research. The major reviews of the researcher to study problems to which methods or
mobile learning in education include a critical analysis of possible solutions have yet to be identified. In terms of
mobile learning projects conducted by Frohberg et al. research purposes, papers that describe research were well
(2009) as they focused on six criteria: context, control, represented, but there was a lack of papers targeting
tools, communication, subject, and objective. Using a evaluation. These authors stated that a challenge for
framework to systematically analyze and position mobile mobile learning research is to stop, turn around, and
learning projects, Frohberg et al. reported screening 1469 reflect over the research results in order to avoid already
publications to finally analyze 102 publications. They known pitfalls. They also stated that a head start is given
found that although mobile devices were primarily for if research is built on previous research instead of rein-
communication, they found few connections to the research venting the wheel every time a new mobile learning ini-
regarding communication or collaboration and the majority tiative begins. However, they caution that much of the
of the studies supported novice learners. Frohberg et al. research being conducted describes how the real world
state that this may be the case because it is easy to teach works and is often presented as the result of a small-scale
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study. This calls into question the generalizability of the Brereton 2009). A systematic review is the art and science
research. of identifying, selecting, and synthesizing primary research
The preceding studies have provided a big picture look studies to provide a comprehensive and trustworthy picture
at how mobile learning is occurring in education. However, of the topic being studied (Oakley 2012). The researchers
these studies do not provide any valuable insights into used aggregated quantitative data and qualitative coding to
specific content areas. analyze and interpret the results further.
The purpose of this study is to conduct a systematic review The search was based on established PRISMA (Liberati
of mobile learning as it relates to science education. The et al. 2009) principles. The literature search was conducted
researchers systematically reviewed the literature as a way using both an electronic search of databases and manual
of summarizing the research evidence to gain an under- searches of specific journals to ensure a more exhaustive
standing of the breadth, purpose, and extent of the research scope. Only peer-reviewed articles published in academic
activity in the use of mobile learning in science. This will journals were included to ensure a level of quality provided
provide a comprehensive and trustworthy picture of the in the peer review publication process. These articles were
topic being studied (Oakley 2012). In addition to aggre- retrieved from an electronic search of educational data-
gating the findings, this study is a configurational review bases ERIC, EBSCOHOST, ProQuest, Wiley International
(Sandelowski et al. 2011) and this means that once the Science, Elsevier Direct, JSTOR, and Sage Journal Online.
initial data are gathered (e.g., number of studies using Manual searches were conducted in journals that include a
surveys), then these data are studied further and cross- focus on mobile learning, specifically the International
referenced to look for trends (e.g., those studies involving Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning, ELEED,
high school students had positive results in chemistry but Journal of Mobile Teaching, IEEE, and the International
not in biology). Journal of Mobile and Blended Learning.
The findings of this study could provide the head start In both the electronic and manual searches, the follow-
suggested by Wingkvist and Ericcson (2011) upon which ing search terms were used: ‘‘science,’’ with ‘‘mobile
future research is based regarding studies of mobile learning,’’ ‘‘m-learning,’’ ‘‘hand-held,’’ ‘‘tablets,’’ ‘‘iPad,’’
learning in science. This study is also beneficial to ‘‘ubiquitous learning,’’ ‘‘wireless learning,’’ ‘‘location-
researchers, funders, educational leaders, policy makers, aware,’’ ‘‘context-aware,’’ ‘‘situated learning,’’ ‘‘game-
and other stakeholders as the current studies of mobile based learning,’’ and ‘‘digital learning.’’ These search
learning in science are explained and clarified. The results terms were used as they are the terms most frequently used
can help in making decisions about how to allocate nec- when describing mobile learning.
essary resources and help in making plans to support fur-
ther research and applications. Study Selection
Three questions are used to drive this systematic review
of mobile learning in science: The initial search without data parameters resulted in 1532
articles. This large number uncovered that the search terms
1. In studies involving mobile learning and science, what
were being interpreted broadly by the search engines. A
were the major research purposes, methodologies, and
review of the articles revealed that the changing meaning
outcomes?
of terms over time resulted in inaccurate findings. To
2. In studies involving mobile learning and science, what
ensure that the search was revealing studies that related to
were the science concepts, educational levels, and
the current use of mobile devices, the dates of the search
educational contexts?
were reduced by decade until articles that related to the
3. In studies involving mobile learning and science, what
current use of mobile devices appeared in the search. This
were the mobile devices used and the geographical
resulted in the decision to include studies from 2000
distribution of the studies?
onwards.
Inclusion/Exclusion Criteria
Materials and Methods
The inclusion and exclusion criteria can be found in
In this study, the researchers conducted a systematic review Table 1. To be included in this systematic review, each
to provide an unbiased synthesis and interpretation of the study had to meet all of the inclusion and exclusion
findings in a balanced and impartial way (Hemingway and criteria.
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After removing duplicates, articles that did not meet the methodology, (3) learning outcomes (e.g., positive, nega-
initial criteria to include mobile learning and science, or tive, neither, and other), (4) science concepts based on the
articles that were not peer-reviewed or research-based, 66 Next Generation Science Standards (2013), (5) educational
studies remained. Each of the articles was checked against the levels (e.g., pre-k (2–4 years old), elementary (5–11 years
inclusion and exclusion criteria by two independent old), middle (11–14 years old), high school (14–18 years
researchers. The inter-rater coding agreement was 96 %. old), higher education (18? years old), and special edu-
Articles in dispute were discussed, further reviewed, and cation), (6) educational context (e.g., formal, informal, and
either accepted or removed. A total of 49 articles met all of the nonformal), (7) mobile devices (e.g., mobile phones,
criteria listed in Table 1. A diagrammatic representation of tablets), and (8) countries of study.
the literature search and review process can be seen in Fig. 1. The research purposes were classified as one of two
types: (1) student dominant with mobile system minor, and
Analysis Framework (2) mobile system dominant with student minor. Type one
focused on student and then the mobile system (e.g., the
The research questions framed the eight features that were researcher wants to focus on the student and see how the
selected for analysis: (1) research purpose, (2) research system/device influences learning). Type two focused on
Fig. 1 A diagrammatic
representation of the literature
search and review process
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the system/device before the student (e.g., the development system dominant with student minor). As the researchers
of a mobile application). analyzed the studies to place them into the two categories,
The learning outcomes were coded as positive, negative, two distinct subsets appeared in Type one studies: eval-
neutral, and other. Studies were coded positive for uating the effects of mobile learning and investigating the
improved student learning, neutral for findings that pri- affective domain during mobile learning. As a result, each
marily did not have a positive or negative impact on stu- of the studies was classified into one of three categories
dent learning, and negative if students’ learning was aligned to the research purpose: (1) evaluating the effects
lessened due to using a mobile device. The other code was of mobile learning, (2) investigating the affective domain
assigned if the results did not focus on student learning. For during mobile learning, or (3) designing a mobile system
example, the development of guidelines would be coded as for learning. These are presented in Fig. 2. The results
other. show that designing a mobile system for learning was the
The educational contexts of the studies were coded most common research purpose (51 %), followed by a
following Crompton’s (2013a) categories of educational combination of evaluating the effects of mobile learning
context: formal, nonformal, and informal. Formal is and investigating the affective domain during mobile
intended learning in a typical educational setting (e.g., a learning (29 %). Evaluating the effects of mobile learning
taught class in a school), nonformal is nonintended learning was the third research purpose (16 %), and last was
(e.g., determining sale percentages in a shop), and informal investigating the affective domain during mobile learning
learning is intended learning in an atypical setting (Na- (4 %).
tional Research Council 2009; e.g., a lesson taking place in Research focusing on the mobile system with a minor
a playground). focus on the student accounted for 51 % of the studies, and
research with students as the dominant focus and the
Coding mobile system as minor focus accounted for 49 % of the
studies.
Once the initial aggregation was completed, open coding
was conducted to further explore some details of the Research Methods
aggregative review. Open coding in systematic reviews
and primary research is somewhat different. The open As shown in Table 2, the researchers identified that for
coding in this systematic review had the researchers purpose one (evaluating the effects of mobile learning),
interpreting both the participant data and author analysis researchers primarily relied on case studies. For
to provide third-order constructs (Britten et al. 2002). research purpose two (investigating the affective
The researchers focused the coding on areas that stood domain during mobile learning), there was no dominant
out in the aggregative review that would benefit from methodology. Mixed methods and quasi-experimental
more detailed analysis. In this study, the informal con- design were the dominant methodologies for studies that
texts and the positive outcomes were coded. Sandelowski combined research purposes one and two. Case studies
et al. (2011) postulated that researchers need to be and mixed methods dominated the methodology for
careful to ensure that the context and original meaning of research purpose three (designing a system for mobile
the raw data are preserved when conducting a secondary learning)
analysis. To this end, the coding was conducted by the
two primary researchers where the code names and
placement of the studies were first determined individu-
ally and then through discussion until a consensus was Evaluating the effects
met. of mobile learning
16%
29% Investigating the
4% affective domain
Results
during mobile learning
Research Question One: What were the Major Designing a system for
Research Purposes, Methods, and Outcomes? learning
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Case study (3) Case study (1) Mixed methods (5) Case study (6)
Quantitative (2) Mixed methods (1) Pre-/posttest (5) Mixed methods (5)
Quasi-experimental (1) Questionnaire (5) Pre-/posttest (5)
Experimental (1) Interview (5) Questionnaire (3)
Qualitative (2) Quasi-experimental (5) Interview (2)
Mixed methods (1) Pre-/posttest (5) Observation (2)
Quantitative (3) Questionnaire (2)
Case study (1) Observation (2)
Survey (2)
Interview (2)
Research Outcomes displays the science concepts with the educational level of
the students.
All studies reported positive learning outcomes regardless
of the research purpose. Educational Levels
Research Question Two: What are the Science Elementary schools were the most common setting for the
Concepts, Educational Levels, and Educational research studies (53 %), followed by high schools (22 %).
Contexts? Middle schools (12 %) and higher education (13 %) were
the remaining settings. Four percent of the studies took
Science Concepts place in multiple settings, and no studies reported pre-k or
special education settings. A diagrammatic presentation of
Life science was the area of science in which the majority these results can be found in Fig. 3.
of the studies were conducted (67 %). Nonspecified con-
tent areas were the next highest with 10 % of the studies. Types of Educational Contexts
Multidisciplinary content comprised 8 % of the studies.
Earth science and physical science each had 6 % of the Figure 4 reveals that the majority of the studies took place
studies. Chemistry totaled 2 % of the studies. Figure 3 in an informal educational context (51 %). Formal setting
accounted for 37 % of the educational contexts, and 12 %
of the studies took place in a combination of both formal
and informal settings. No studies were conducted in non-
formal contexts.
Studying the life sciences in informal settings consti-
tuted 84 % of the studies. Multiple subjects were studied in
Fig. 3 Science concepts and educational level of students Fig. 4 Types of educational context
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chemistry, they created a mobile app that would provide hoped to help students increase their conceptual under-
multiple opportunities for students to learn functional standing of functional groups in organic chemistry.
groups in a purposeful way that incorporated several The other research purpose focused on evaluating the
learning theories. By designing the application and effects of the use of mobile devices on student learning
selecting examples to address the common errors and areas and/or investigating the affective domain during mobile
of misconceptions students have in learning this topic, they learning. Although designing a mobile system for learning
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is the first step in incorporating the use of mobile devices in Research Question Two: What were the Science
science learning, evaluating the impact of the use of mobile Concepts, Educational Levels, and Educational
devices is a necessary subsequent step. Therefore, it is Contexts?
important to note that almost half of the studies focused on
this purpose. One example of a study that evaluated both Although all of the major science concepts were repre-
the effects of mobile devices on student learning and the sented in the research, life science was by far the most
affective domain is the research conducted by Hsiao et al. common area of research (67 %). Of the studies that
(2010). To evaluate the effects on student learning in an identified the subject areas, 6 % were either physical sci-
ecology study, they used pre- and posttests with a control ence or earth and space science, and only 2 % were
and experimental group. To investigate the affective chemistry. Additionally, 53 % of the studies took place in
domain, the experimental group completed a questionnaire elementary schools. This fact could help to explain the
regarding their experience. The fact that researchers are preponderance of life sciences as the major area of study,
embracing a variety of research purposes will help to as this is often the most common area of science taught in
ensure that studies in the use of mobile devices in science elementary schools. It may be that the researchers are
education provide multiple and diverse perspectives. This exploiting the mobility of the devices to extend pedagogies
robust look at the use of mobile devices will help to inform to learning about life science outside the classroom with
both researchers and practitioners about possibilities in this the assistance of technology.
area. Many of these life science studies go beyond typical
In this systematic review, mixed methods studies were field trips. For example, in one study (viz., Hung et al.
identified as the primary research method (12) followed by 2012), the students visited a Mangrove conservation center
case studies (10). The findings reveal a wide variance and instead of being tethered to the class teacher. These
across the research methodologies. Of the 49 studies, only students could work at their own pace as they were guided
five were listed as solely quantitative. The large spread around the center by the mobile program that provided
across the research methodologies indicates a desire of the tasks, instant feedback, and an e-library with information
researchers to gain a more robust picture of the use of about the mangrove wetland ecological systems. The stu-
mobile learning in science. Multiple methodologies pro- dents also used the e-diary feature and the e-notebook to
vide both numerical and qualitative insights into the keep additional notes. Although the use of mobile devices
nuances of pedagogies and practices of mobile learning in may be more easily connected to the study of life science,
this subject. Wingkvist and Ericcson (2011) in their study teachers of other areas in science can use these life science
of the proceedings of mLearn 2005, 2007, and 2008 applications as catalysts for ideas about how to use mobile
identified case studies as the most commonly used research devices to help students learn science. Mobile devices may
method (22 %). However, they also found the use of seven have unique affordances in other areas of science and could
research methods investigating the use of mobile learning. be explored further.
All of the researchers reported positive learning out- One of the purposes of this systematic review was to
comes of their research. There are a number of words of investigate the context where the studies took place. Tra-
caution that need to be stated here. First, it can be argued ditional teaching is typically conducted inside a classroom.
that less research is published with a negative outcome than However, Tucker-Raymond et al. (2013) state that when
those that are positive. More importantly, however, is the students are offered the opportunity to participate in hands-
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on science activities in informal and authentic environ- mobile device. The lack of importance regarding a specific
ments, they develop not only an understanding of scientific device means that various devices can be used, and it may
concepts, but also varied and rich conceptions of science as help support the emerging practice of BYOD (Bring Your
a practice. The development of mobile devices provides Own Device) programs (Johnson et al. 2014), but more
technologies that can be used to expand the study of sci- research is needed with BYOD studies to confirm this.
ence beyond the classroom walls. In this study of the use of A recent UNESCO publication shows that mobile
mobile technologies, indeed, 63 % of the studies did take devices are being used across the globe, providing access to
place in either informal or a combination of formal and those who were previously unable to access educational
informal settings. This finding indicates that researchers are opportunities in developing countries and also extending
embracing the portability and possibilities afforded by the the opportunities of those in developed locations (Cromp-
mobile technologies. ton and Traxler in press). This study substantiated this
The majority of the informal settings involved the area access as the research on the use of mobile devices took
of life science (84 %). Of particular interest to the place in thirteen different countries on four continents. This
researchers of this study was the variety of informal con- use of mobile technologies in a wide variety of cultures and
texts in which the research took place. In total, 21 different environments provides the opportunity for a rich database
informal places provided students with the chance to study for further research. This finding indicates that there is an
science using mobile technologies. For example, Chen interest on a global level regarding the use of mobile
et al. (2014) and Chu et al. (2010) took advantage of spaces technologies in science education. Opportunities for
on their school grounds. In other studies (viz. Chen et al. researchers to share their research across countries and
2005; Hsieh et al. 2011; Hwang et al. 2010; Peng et al. cultures would enrich the academic understanding in dif-
2009), a butterfly garden was the identified learning space. ferent contexts. In a more in-depth analysis of the study
Real-world locations such as a fish market (Song 2014) and countries, of particular interest was that 21 of the 49 studies
a farm (Song et al. 2012) provided opportunities for stu- took place in Taiwan. Further investigation showed that
dents to engage in authentic science activities. first authorship was limited to 11 primary researchers who
Learning in the real world is a natural space for science. are exploring the use of mobiles in science in Taiwan.
The portability of mobile devices makes this opportunity a Taiwan has one of the most advanced telecommunication
distinct possibility. The results of this systematic review networks in Asia and government policies in support of
indicate that there are a number of different contexts in mobile learning research funding (Kismihók 2007). This
which mobile learning took place. Both researchers and may have supported the 11 researchers beyond that pro-
educators can access the data from this review as a base vided in other countries.
upon which to further explore the use of mobile tech-
nologies in science. Identified Gaps and Future Research
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these aspects. In addition, researchers could conduct true concepts can now be explored in multiple settings; they are
experimental research which would provide data and evi- not confined to classroom study. This study did identify
dence about the impact of the use of mobile learning in positive use of mobile devices in all areas of science,
science. This could lead to be a better understanding of the indicating that there is value in embracing these tech-
causality of the use of the mobile devices and provide more nologies to support all science learners. As the accessibility
generalizability of the research results. In addition, and use of mobile devices grow in schools, it will be
research endeavors could also explore the best approaches important for research in this area to continue so that the
for using mobile learning in science. value and affordances provided by mobile learning can be
evaluated and shared with others.
Limitations
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