Needs Analysis for Designing an Augmented Reality-Based Learning Medium on Climate Change in Elementary Science Education

Abstract

Digital technology has increased demand for instructional media that address persistent difficulties in teaching abstract topics such as climate change, yet little empirical evidence exists on elementary students' needs and readiness for augmented reality (AR)-based learning media in Indonesia. This study analyzed fourth-grade students' needs for AR-based climate-change learning media within Ilmu Pengetahuan Alam dan Sosial (IPAS, Natural and Social Sciences) instruction and identified requirements to inform its design. Using a research and development approach following the Alessi and Trollip instructional design model, a structured fifteen-item Likert-scale questionnaire was administered to 60 fourth-grade students from two elementary schools in Palembang, Indonesia, and responses were analyzed descriptively through percentage distributions. Results showed that most students found climate-change material difficult to understand, strongly endorsed visual and interactive learning media, and reported high ownership and habitual use of personal digital devices, yet few were already familiar with AR technology. General interest in AR was considerably higher than interest specifically directed toward AR integrated with climate-change content, and student reports diverged from those attributed to teachers regarding existing interactive media use. These findings establish a pedagogical rationale and technological readiness for developing AR-based climate-change media, while cautioning that enthusiasm for AR cannot be assumed to transfer automatically across content domains, offering an empirical foundation for subsequent design of developmentally appropriate AR learning media.