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

基于触觉的学习经验作为工程教育中概念理解和表征流畅性的认知中介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，也是工程结构设计的关键人物。研究人员已经确定，静力学是学生在后续核心课程（因此影响工程学的保留）以及实际设计顶点课程中取得成功的主要障碍。众所周知，学生进入静态与误解，是不通过传统的教学纠正。这个项目研究反馈设备的使用，被称为触觉，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，触觉设备的使用将为学生提供具体的反馈，以帮助他们发展一个更好的静态概念的理解。该项目针对工程教育中的一个基础主题，该主题对未来的表现和保留率都有显著影响。这项研究的结果是广泛相关的机构和他们的学生，基本上所有的学生在机械，民用，航空航天和生物医学学科采取静力学。同样，这项研究的成果为科学和工程中相关概念的学习干预提供了信息（例如，浮力，电力和磁力，动力学，等等）。这项研究通过在实验室实验中探索视觉触觉模拟的具体启示和限制，强调静态误解，从而促进了对触觉介导学习的理解。使用力反馈设备的视觉触觉模拟教育是及时的，但研究不足。这项研究显着扩展了社区的理解的启示和限制使用触觉设备教学困难的概念。遵循基于设计的研究方法，该项目开发了关于基于触觉的学习经验如何介导静态中困难概念的概念理解和表征能力的新知识。它研究了我们如何最好地使用触摸技术来帮助学生在控制力及其不同的代表形式方面连接系统行为。本研究主要针对以下几个具体的研究问题：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：触觉装置的力反馈加强了力学系统的表示（数学的、视觉的），并提高了概念理解。2.如何比较视觉增强、物理操作增强和触觉增强的学习活动之间的短期、长期和迁移学习收益？工作假设：当教学包括触觉设备时，学生会有更大的学习收获。3.学生在使用触觉学习经验前后，对经验现象的解释与表征有何差异？工作假设：触觉设备和学习体验提供了一个新的平台，学生可以在这个平台上建立理解，并为阐明设备结构、功能和性能提供了一个新的词汇。新衍生的知识将告知我们的理解，学生如何“通过触摸学习”，以及我们的理解概念理解和表征能力之间的相互作用。我们的长期目标是确定在何种程度上与基于触觉的学习经验（HABLE）的互动介导学生的概念理解和静态的困难概念的表征流畅性。

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.