Collaborative Research: Databases for Many Majors: Customizable Visualizations to Improve STEM Learning

数据库在许多学科中对信息的存储和检索都很重要。然而，面向本科生的数据库课程通常只能作为计算机科学或商业专业的高级选修课程。这个项目建立在一个早期研究项目的成功基础上，该项目通过使用图像和颜色的视觉和动态表示的动画向许多专业的学生介绍了数据库概念。可视化是一种有效的教学方法，因为它能调动学生的兴趣，提高他们的学习能力。在早期的项目中，开发了两个动画：一个介绍数据库是什么，另一个介绍如何通过提出问题（称为查询）来检索存储在数据库中的信息。这个项目的目标是让不同学科的教育工作者将动画融入他们现有的课程中。为了实现这一目标，动画可以定制为不同专业的不同示例。另一个目标是开发一个关于如何使用可视化图表组织数据以存储在数据库中的附加动画。所有动画的增强计划提供一个内置的测验机制，以便学生可以收到关于他们正在学习的内容的即时反馈。测验鼓励学生学习和复习动画，而不是给老师打分。该项目的另一个目标是开发可视化工具，以帮助教师根据他们的学科定制动画示例。作为该项目的一部分，动画将被定制到其他STEM领域，特别是统计学、法医学和生态学。本研究通过提供可定制的带有自我评估的动画，向来自不同专业的学生介绍各种数据库概念，预计将为改善STEM学习提供有价值的贡献。另一个重要贡献是研究了一个可定制的自评估框架，将这些数据库概念的可扩展动画合并到框架中。这种自我评价是为学生提供形成性反馈的必要组成部分，通过使用动画来提高他们对这些数据库概念的理解。最后，动画和评估问题的定制能力是本研究的重要组成部分。这个定制过程在开发环境中使用XML技术，从而开发可视化工具来帮助定制其他学科的动画。

Databases are important in many disciplines for the storage and retrieval of information. However, database courses for undergraduates are typically only available as an upper-level elective course for computer science or business majors. This project builds on the successes of an earlier research project that introduced database concepts to students in many majors through animations using a visual and dynamic presentation with images and color. Visualization is an effective technique for instruction because it engages student interest and enhances their learning. In the earlier project, two animations were developed: one to introduce what databases are and a second to introduce how to retrieve the information stored in a database by asking questions, called queries. The goal for this project is for educators in diverse academic disciplines to incorporate the animations in their existing courses. To support this goal, the animations are customizable to different examples for various majors. Another goal is to develop an additional animations on how to organize data for storage in a database using visual diagrams. An enhancement to all animations is planned to provide a built-in quizzing mechanism so that the student can receive immediate feedback on what they are learning. The quizzes encourage student to learn and review the animation and do not to provide a grade to an instructor. Another goal of the project is to develop visual tools to assist instructors with the customization of the animation example to their discipline. As part of this project, the animations will be customized to additional STEM domains, specifically statistics, forensics, and ecology. This research is expected to provide valuable contributions for improving STEM learning by providing customizable animations with self-assessment that introduce students from many majors to various database concepts. Another significant contribution is the investigation of a customizable self-assessment framework to incorporate within it the extensible animations for these database concepts. This self-evaluation is a necessary component for providing formative feedback to a student progressing thru these database concepts using the animations to improve their comprehension. Finally, the ability to customize the animations and the assessment questions is an important component of the research. This customization process uses XML technologies within the development environment, thus developing visual tools to assist in the customization of the animations for other disciplines.