To explore the application of mobile augmented reality (mAR) technology in the teaching of neuroanatomy, and to observe its effect on students' academic performance and cognitive load.

By collecting and designing various neuroanatomy multimedia teaching resources (graphics, animations and videos), using augmented reality (AR) marker-based image recognition technology, the multimedia resources were placed at the tags in the traditional book pages to make the books interactive. And various multimedia resources were combined with traditional printed books through mobile devices. Forty students were randomized into the experimental group or the control group. The experimental group was taught with mAR multimedia materials, and the control group adopted traditional teaching methods. After a 6-hour course was completed, all students had a unified test, and the academic performance test and the PAAS(platform-as-a-service) cognitive load scale were used for data collection and analysis. The variance analyses (MANOVA and ANOVA) were used for significance testing.

One-way MANOVA test was used to determine the learning effect of mAR on academic performance and cognitive load. The results showed that there was a significant difference between the experimental group and the control group (P<0.05). The univariate ANOVA test found that the experimental group students who learned neuroanatomy through mAR had better test scores than the control group students. In addition, compared with the control group students, the cognitive load of students in experimental group was significantly reduced, with statistical significance (all P<0.05).

Through the teaching practice, we found that using mAR to learn neuroanatomy helps students improve their academic performance while reducing their cognitive load.

Mobile augmented reality; Neuroanatomy teaching; Cognitive load; Teaching reform