The impact of augmented reality-enhanced problem-based learning on learning outcomes and 21st-century skills: A systematic review

Abstract

The increasing demand for students to develop 21st-century competencies necessitates adjustments to educational paradigms beyond traditional teaching. Although Augmented Reality (AR) and Problem-Based Learning (PBL) have demonstrated independent effectiveness, empirical evidence regarding their synergistic integration remains fragmented. Previous literature often places pedagogy as a secondary variable, leaving the explicit impact of deliberate AR-PBL integration underexplored. Guided by PRISMA, this systematic review synthesized 22 empirical studies (2016–2026) from Scopus, Web of Science, and ERIC to evaluate the effects of AR integration within a PBL framework on students' cognitive outcomes and 21st-century skills. The findings of this review indicate significant academic achievement gains in 77.3% of the reviewed studies. Problem-solving skills (77.3%) and critical thinking skills (63.6%) represent the analytical core of the current AR-PBL environment. Meanwhile, different competencies such as creativity (22.7%) remain under-explored. This suggests that current evidence is insufficient to claim AR-PBL as a definitively proven tool for creativity development. Theoretically, AR functions as a dynamic cognitive framework, reducing cognitive load during ill-structured problem-solving, although anomalous findings highlight that technological sophistication cannot compensate for pedagogical misalignment. Unlike broader educational technology models such as TPACK, this review introduces a “Synergistic AR-PBL Integration Framework,” which specifically maps how AR’s unique spatial affordances address the cognitive bottlenecks inherent in ill-structured problem-solving. Consequently, the review introduces four design principles grounded in empirical evidence, emphasizing that the effectiveness of AR-PBL integration depends on pedagogical intent rather than simply the visual sophistication AR offers. To fully validate its impact across the maturity gradient of 21st-century skills, future research should shift to a multidimensional assessment framework.