EPISTEMOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS OF MOBILE-SENSOR-INTEGRATED PROJECT-BASED LEARNING IN SCIENCE EDUCATION: A SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE REVIEW FROM THE PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE AND EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.23969/jp.v11i03.62199Keywords:
epistemology; Project-Based Learning; mobile sensors; Phyphox; philosophy of science; constructivism; systematic literature review; educational technology philosophyAbstract
The proliferation of smartphone-embedded sensors—accelerometers, gyroscopes, magnetometers, barometers, and GPS receivers—has catalyzed a fundamental reconfiguration of epistemic practices in science education. This Systematic Literature Review (SLR) examines the philosophical underpinnings of mobile-sensor-integrated Project-Based Learning (PjBL), interrogating how this pedagogical–technological convergence reconstitutes the epistemological architecture of knowledge production, validation, and dissemination in secondary and tertiary science classrooms. Following PRISMA 2020 guidelines (Page et al., 2021), 42 peer-reviewed studies published strictly between 2020 and 2026 were identified from Scopus, Web of Science, ERIC, and Google Scholar databases and subjected to critical thematic synthesis. Analysis reveals that sensor-integrated PjBL is epistemologically grounded in neo-constructivism, inquiry-based epistemology, experiential and embodied cognition theories, and connectivism—each reconstituted within the context of digital measurement technologies. Philosophically, mobile sensors function as theory-laden epistemic instruments that mediate between phenomenal reality and propositional knowledge, effectuating a paradigm shift from didactic transmission to empirical co-construction. From the philosophy of educational technology perspective, sensor-enabled PjBL reconfigures the human–tool–knowledge triad by positioning digital artifacts as active epistemic agents. Critical analysis identifies persistent research lacunae: the absence of validated epistemological belief instruments for sensor-based contexts, inadequate integration of philosophy of measurement with constructivist pedagogy, and limited cross-cultural replication in developing-country contexts. A novel integrative framework—the Empirical-Constructivist Epistemic Mediation (ECEM) model—is proposed, with direct implications for curriculum design under Outcome-Based Education frameworks.
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