Haptic-Based Learning Experiences as Cognitive Mediators for Conceptual Understanding and Representational Fluency in Engineering Education

静力学是几个工程学科的主干课程，是材料动力学和力学的直接先决条件，在工程结构设计中起着关键作用。研究人员已经确定静力学是学生在后续核心课程中取得成功的主要障碍（因此影响工程学的保留）以及实用设计顶点课程。众所周知，学生带着误解进入静力学，而这些误解并没有通过传统教学得到纠正。这个项目研究了反馈设备的使用，即触觉，学生可以操纵计算机生成的结构并感受到产生的力。据推测，使用触觉设备将为学生提供具体的反馈，以帮助他们更好地理解静力学的概念。这个项目的目标是工程教育中的一个基础主题，它对未来的表现和保留都有很大的影响。这项研究的结果与机构及其学生广泛相关，因为基本上所有机械、民用、航空航天和生物医学学科的学生都选修静力学。同样，本研究的成果为科学和工程相关概念（如浮力、电、磁、动力学等）的学习干预提供了信息。本研究通过在实验室实验中探索视觉-触觉模拟的特定功能和限制，强调了静态误解，从而促进了对触觉介导学习的理解。使用力反馈装置的视觉触觉模拟用于教育是及时的，但尚未得到充分研究。这项研究极大地扩展了社区对使用触觉设备教学困难概念的支持和限制的理解。遵循基于设计的研究方法，本项目开发了基于触觉的学习经验如何介导静态学中困难概念的概念理解和表征能力的新知识。它调查了我们如何才能最好地使用触摸技术来帮助学生在控制力量和他们不同的表现形式方面连接系统行为。本提案主要针对以下具体的研究问题（RQs）： 1。基于触觉的学习体验在多大程度上提高了学生的概念理解和表征流畅性？工作假设：触觉设备的力反馈加强了力学系统的表征（数学的、视觉的），提高了概念理解。2. 如何比较视觉增强、物理操作增强和触觉增强学习活动在短期、长期和迁移学习方面的收益？工作假设：当教学包括触觉设备时，学生会获得更大的学习收益。3. 使用基于触觉的学习体验前后，学生对经验现象的解释和表征有何差异？工作假设：触觉设备和学习经验提供了一个新的平台，学生可以在此平台上建立理解，并为阐明设备的结构，功能和性能提供了新的词汇。新获得的知识将帮助我们理解学生如何“通过触摸学习”，以及我们对概念理解和表征能力之间相互作用的理解。我们的长期目标是确定与基于触觉的学习经验（HABLE）互动在多大程度上调节了学生对静态学中困难概念的概念理解和表征流畅性。

Haptic-Based Learning Experiences as Cognitive Mediators for Conceptual Understanding and Representational Fluency in Engineering EducationStatics is a backbone course for several engineering disciplines, a direct pre-requisite for dynamics and mechanics of materials, and a pivotal player in engineering structural design. Researchers have identified Statics as a major impediment for students to succeed in follow-on core courses (therefore affecting retention in engineering) as well as on practical design capstone courses. It is known that students enter Statics with misconceptions that are not corrected through traditional instruction. This project investigates the use of feedback devices, known as haptics, in which students can manipulate a computer-generated structure and feel the forces that are generated. It is hypothesized that the use of the haptic device will provide students specific feedback to help them develop a better conceptual understanding of Statics. This project targets a foundational topic in engineering education known to significantly affect both future performance and retention. The results of this research are broadly relevant to institutions and their students, as essentially all students in mechanical, civil, aerospace, and biomedical disciplines take Statics. Similarly, the products of this research inform learning interventions in related concepts in science and engineering (e.g., buoyancy, electricity and magnetism, and dynamics, among others).This research advances understanding of haptic-mediated learning by exploring specific affordances and constraints of visuo-haptic simulations in a laboratory experiment emphasizing statics misconceptions. Visuo-haptic simulation using force-feedback devices for education is timely, yet understudied. This research significantly extends the community's understanding of the affordances and constraints of using haptic devices for teaching difficult concepts. Following a design-based research approach, this project develops new knowledge about how haptic-based learning experiences can mediate conceptual understanding and representational competence of difficult concepts in statics. It investigates how we can best use touch technologies to help students connect system behaviors in terms of governing forces and their different representational forms. This proposal focuses on the following specific research questions (RQs): 1. To what extent do haptic-based learning experiences improve student conceptual understanding and representational fluency? Working hypothesis: the force feedback of haptic devices reinforces representations (mathematical, visual) of mechanics systems and improves conceptual understanding. 2. How do the short-term, long-term, and transfer learning gains between visual-only-enhanced, physical manipulative-enhanced, and haptic-enhanced learning activities compare? Working hypothesis: students experience greater learning gains when instruction includes haptic devices. 3. What are the differences in students' explanations and representations of experienced phenomena before and after using the haptic-based learning experiences? Working hypothesis: haptic devices and learning experiences provide a new platform on which students can build understanding, and provide a new vocabulary for articulating device structure, function, and performance. The newly derived knowledge will inform our understanding about how students "learn by touch" as well as our understanding of the interplay between conceptual understanding and representational competence. Our long-term goal is to identify the extent to which interacting with haptic-based learning experiences (HABLE) mediates students' conceptual understanding and representational fluency of difficult concepts in statics.