This study examines the reflections of an arts-based and researcher-designed interactive learning design on students’ environmental awareness within the context of environmental education in the Life Studies course at the third-grade primary school level. In the study, a TouchDesigner-based audio-visual learning environment was designed in order to raise awareness of endangered species. Students’ interaction with this environment was supported through art activities. The research addresses a holistic learning process in which digital interaction, sensory experience, and arts-based learning are brought together. The main research question of this study is “How does an arts-based and interactive digital learning environment influence third-grade primary school students’ awareness of endangered species and the human–nature relationship?” The purpose of this study is to design an innovative digital learning environment for environmental education within the Life Studies course at the primary school level and to examine the reflections of this environment on students’ environmental awareness. The study aims to foster students’ connection with nature through arts-based activities, to create an interactive learning experience through the use of TouchDesigner. This study also aims to present an applicable example of environmental education at the primary school level through a low-code/no-code approach, thereby providing teachers with practical ideas for enriching classroom teaching and learning practices. Conceptual Framework Duncum (2004) states that meaning does not emerge from a single sign but rather from the relationships between signs. In other words, the meaning of an image is not produced solely by the image itself; it is constructed together with the accompanying sound, context, and interaction. In this study, students’ environmental awareness is therefore structured holistically not only through visual images, but also through animal sounds, digital movement, and arts-based activities. Duncum (2004) discusses how sound or text can “anchor” the meaning of an image. For example, cheerful music can render an image joyful, whereas melancholic music has the power to dramatize the same image. The classroom environment designed in this study provides an opportunity to examine how a particular animal sound or digital movement can guide students’ visual perceptions of that animal in this way. Duncum (2004) further argues that the aim of multimodal education is not merely to “experience” different modes, but to “analyze” how these modes influence us. For instance, one may become aware of how music manipulates the viewer’s emotions in a film scene. Building on this perspective, the study goes beyond simply enabling students to experience nature and instead seeks to address questions such as, “When this sound is added, does nature feel more frightening or more friendly?” In this way, it is considered possible to explore how primary school students construct meaning in relation to endangered species. With Duncum’s (2004) understanding of multimodality, this study aims to move art education beyond the purely visual, while simultaneously adapting the Reggio Emilia principle of “the environment as the third teacher” to the digital realm (Aden & Theodotou, 2019; Danko-McGhee & Slutsky, 2017). The designed TouchDesigner environment functions as a “Third Space,” as defined by Aung (2025), creating a setting in which children hybridize scientific environmental knowledge with artistic expression. As emphasized by Narey (2017) and Brooks (2017), art in this study is positioned not as a final product but as a process through which children think and make meaning. Moreover, as noted by Davidson et al. (2017), the multimodal dialogues and embodied responses that emerge during digital interaction demonstrate that environmental awareness is constructed not only cognitively, but also affectively and relationally.

This study was designed as a qualitative instrumental case study. Instrumental case studies aim to conduct in-depth analysis through specific cases not for their own sake, but in order to gain insight into a broader phenomenon (Stake, 1995; Yin, 2018). In this research, the practices implemented at the primary school level were treated as a means of understanding the reflections of arts-based learning on environmental awareness. The learning process was structured in line with an arts-based learning approach. In this context, learning is conceptualized as a holistic process experienced by the learner through multiple sensory channels. The TouchDesigner-based interactive environment used in the study was positioned as a third space and was designed to enable students to actively interact with visual and auditory stimuli. In this way, the learning process was transformed into an experience-based structure. From this perspective, the study aligns with the core assumptions of multimodal learning. Indeed, multimodal learning theory emphasizes that meaning is constructed through the relationships between different sign systems and that learning deepens through such interactions (Kress, 2000; Duncum, 2004). In this research, environmental education addressed within the context of the Life Studies course was not treated as a theoretical framework, but rather as a content area in which the arts-based learning approach was applied. Students’ awareness of endangered species was supported through visual, auditory, and artistic experiences, with the aim of addressing environmental issues not only at a cognitive level but also at an affective level. Data were collected through reflective researcher journal, students’ artistic artefacts, classroom observations, and students’ verbal reflections during and after the implementation process. The data were analyzed using content analysis, guided by a multimodal learning perspective. In conclusion, this study constitutes a qualitative research designed as an instrumental case study that demonstrates how an arts-based learning approach can be implemented at the primary school level.

Expected Outcomes This study is expected to deepen third-grade primary school students’ environmental awareness through arts-based learning process. Rather than remaining limited to recognizing environmental concepts at a knowledge level, students are anticipated to redesign these concepts by transitioning between auditory, visual, and kinesthetic modes. This process is expected to contribute to making students’ environmental knowledge more meaningful and enduring, while also fostering conceptual depth. The multimodal learning approach is also considered one of the key outcomes of the study in terms of enhancing inclusivity within the classroom environment. In line with studies highlighting that learning processes relying primarily on verbal language may exclude some students (Narey, 2017; Aung, 2025), this research is expected to provide students with diverse learning styles or limited verbal expression skills opportunities to express themselves through art. This, in turn, is anticipated to make the strengths of students more active participation in the learning process. Consequently, classroom interaction is expected to become more democratic, allowing all students to experience having a “voice” within the learning process. It is further expected that the artistic artefacts produced by students (such as drawings, visual narratives, and models) will render visible their thoughts, emotions, and perceptions regarding endangered species. Through these artefacts, it will be possible to understand how students attribute meaning to environmental issues and what kinds of sensory and affective responses they develop. In summary, by positioning technology (TouchDesigner) as a stimulus and art as an expressive medium, this study is expected to enable students to internalize environmental awareness not merely as information to be acquired, but as an experience that is actively produced.

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