The Indian schools in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities have technology-driven classrooms. However, learning subjects such as (but not limited to) mathematics, science, and history that include abstract concepts often becomes challenging for students due to the requirement of visualising skills, a lack of learner-content control, and frequent disengagement. This leads to the requirement of a student-centered technological pedagogical tool. According to recent research, Augmented Reality (AR) is one of the emerging technologies for student-centered learning that superimposes computer-generated virtual objects onto the real world in real time. Moreover, the ubiquity of mobile phones has led to increased integration of AR and mobile learning. In the context of Indian schools, this technology is still being explored and is yet to be added to the benefits of classroom teaching. Hence, there is a need to identify the ways in which AR technology can be designed and used in Indian schools to provide an interactive, immersive, and enhanced learning experience. To create such a classroom-based Augmented Reality Learning Experience (ARLE), the potential design strategies have to be identified and applied.

This dissertation advances our understanding of these problems in two ways: (1) to characterise the design strategies of an ARLE incorporating the three dimensions of learning, i.e., content, incentive, and interaction (Illeris, 2003), and (2) to apply the identified design strategies in creating an ARLE. We have used design-based research (DBR) as the overarching research approach to design and iterate on the potential solution. DBR is a research methodology that aims at the development of educational interventions or learning environments through iterative cycles of analysis and exploration, design and development, and evaluation and reflection. We carried out seven research studies (N = 235) using a mixed-method approach in two cycles of DBR.