Exploring Learning Support in Mobile and Augmented-Reality Concept-Mapping Interfaces: How Structure–Platform Alignment Shapes Vocabulary Learning Processes

In multimodal learning interfaces, effective learning support depends not merely on adding text, images, audio, or spatial interaction, but on whether knowledge representations can be understood, navigated, and transformed into cognitively manageable learning support across platforms. In vocabulary learning, fragmented lexical information may create visual load, operational interference, or process misalignment when representational structures and platform conditions are not appropriately coordinated. This exploratory mixed-methods study examined how representational structure, platform affordance, and learning process align in three concept-mapping interface configurations: APPHC, APPRC, and ARRC. Forty-five adult participants completed pre-test, immediate post-test, and delayed post-test measures, an attitude scale, and semi-structured interviews. After controlling for pre-test differences, no significant group superiority was found in immediate learning, delayed retention, or attitudes, indicating that no single configuration could be interpreted as generally superior. Qualitative findings nevertheless revealed different learning processes behind similar quantitative outcomes: APPHC supported semantic organization and stable review, APPRC encouraged associative exploration but required clearer visual guidance, and ARRC enhanced immersion and embodied experience while increasing interaction and cognitive-regulation demands. Based on these findings, the Platform–Structure–Process (PSP) Model is proposed as a preliminary design-diagnostic framework for the early design and evaluation of multimodal concept-mapping interfaces.