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REVIEW article

Front. Commun.

Sec. Science and Environmental Communication

Volume 10 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fcomm.2025.1624012

Mobile Learning in Science Education to Improve Higher-Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) and Communication Skills: Scoping Review

Provisionally accepted
Galimova  ElviraGalimova Elvira1*Olga V.  SergeevaOlga V. Sergeeva2Marina  ZheltukhinaMarina Zheltukhina3Natalia L.  SokolovaNatalia L. Sokolova4Valeria  ZakharovaValeria Zakharova5Nataliya N.  DrobyshevaNataliya N. Drobysheva6
  • 1Kazan Federal University, Kazan, Russia
  • 2Kuban State University, Krasnador, Russia
  • 3Pyatigorsk State University, Pyatigorsk, Russia
  • 4Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia (RUDN University), Moscow, Russia
  • 5Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Moscow, Russia
  • 6Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, Moscow, Russia

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

Mobile devices increasingly permeate students' lives, yet their impact on core twenty-first-century competencies in science classrooms remains unevenly charted. This scoping review maps how mobile-learning interventions influence higher-order thinking skills (HOTS) and communication skills across primary, secondary and tertiary science education. Guided by Arksey and O'Malley's five-stage framework and reported in line with PRISMA-ScR, six databases were searched for English-language studies published between 1 January 2015 and 31 March 2025. Twenty-seven empirical papers met the inclusion criteria and were charted for context, pedagogy, technology and outcomes. Most interventions originated in Indonesia and combined purpose-built science apps or smartphone sensors with ubiquitous chat platforms such as WhatsApp or Viber. Inquiry and problem-based models dominated, typically embedding real-time data collection, instant peer sharing and scaffolded reflection. Across studies, moderate-to-large gains were reported for critical thinking, creativity and, to a lesser extent, verbal and written scientific communication. Designs that coupled evidence gathering with public dissemination (e.g., WeChat science posts) yielded the strongest communication improvements. Recurring challenges included short intervention windows, small intact-class samples, technical glitches and limited teacher preparation. The review concludes that mobile devices can catalyze sustained HOTS and richer scientific discourse when inquiry-rich tasks are buttressed by social-communication channels and graduated scaffolds. Future research should extend trials over full semesters, diversify geographic settings and employ process analytics to trace how mobile interactions translate into durable learning.

Keywords: Mobile learning, science education, higher-order thinking skills, Communication Skills, Scoping review

Received: 06 May 2025; Accepted: 04 Aug 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Elvira, Sergeeva, Zheltukhina, Sokolova, Zakharova and Drobysheva. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Galimova Elvira, Kazan Federal University, Kazan, Russia

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