My Teacher is a Hologram: Measuring innovative STEM learning experiences

There has been very little research regarding the use of holograms for educational purposes, and it seems there is not enough research on the use of holographic technology and its effects on students' learning outcomes.This study proposes a way to measure how learning outcomes, engagement, flow and social presence are impacted by a hologram teaching experience implemented with first-year engineering students, specifically, in a physics class. The University has been guided lately by a new educational model, the Tec21 model, that has four fundamental pillars: a) inspiring teachers, b) technology to improve learning, c) flexible learning experiences and d) challenge-based learning.Our objective was to evaluate an Engineering School initiative for first year students aimed to address two of the new educational-model pillars; namely inspiring teachers and flexible learning experiences. The research problem lies on the difficulty of measuring whether “Educational Innovations” really impact learning outcomes and, if they do, to what extent? This was our research question.A quantitative instrument was developed and applied in a pilot phase to six groups of students (N=160). The pilot study showed good instrument reliability. It seems to indicate that an isolated strategy does not impact learning outcomes or student engagement directly, but the combination of many factors does.