Doctoral Dissertation Research: User Performance and Cognitive Load Measures of Geovisualization and Tactile Feedback Maps

本博士论文研究项目将研究理解复杂空间数据的多感官、视觉和触觉界面。该项目将为涉及地理学和其他空间科学、地球科学教育、制图可视化和认知心理学的新兴跨学科研究提供新的见解，该研究旨在研究地形图的维度如何影响地图用户理解和应用空间信息的能力。通过根据维度比较认知负荷和学习效果，该项目将有助于确定空间能力在支持对地图数据的理解方面发挥的作用，以及哪些教学策略可能适合不同维度的水平。该项目将通过制定引人入胜的教学策略和实践使用创新技术来帮助提高空间思维能力，以便更好地为学生在科学、技术、教育和数学(STEM)职业生涯中取得成功做好准备。该项目对多传感器接口的研究将支持进一步探讨维度作为空间思维因素的作用，以促进STEM教育，这种教育可能会使广泛的用户受益，但对动觉学习者和视障人士具有特殊价值，因为更强调多感官教学的交互、触觉特征。随后的读图教学模块将提供教授空间技能的源代码和资源，以帮助其他人提高STEM的教育能力。作为博士论文研究改进奖，该奖项还将提供支持，使有前途的学生建立强大的独立研究生涯。最近在三维(3-D)地理视觉和触觉交互显示方面的创新可以促进多感官学习。虽然使用二维(2-D)地形轮廓线为地图用户呈现地图景观需要将抽象的2-D空间数据传输到可视化的3-D世界，但增强现实沙盒(一种3-D有形用户界面)使用户能够实时触摸和操纵3-D地图表面。学习是多感官的，因为交互式触觉反馈补充了视觉反馈，但以前的研究不同意改变空间信息呈现维度的学习效果。在这项研究中，博士生将使用实验设计来评估地图维度对学习成绩和心理努力的影响，同时控制空间思维能力和性别的差异。他将使用两种广泛使用的空间能力测试来衡量研究对象先前的空间思维能力，这两种测试是心理旋转测试和折纸测试。地学本科生将根据性别被分成不同的小组，并将被随机分配到三个地形图界面之一接受教学：3-D增强现实沙盒；2.5-D地理视觉计算机界面，通过该界面将3-D图像叠加在2-D计算机屏幕上；或2-D打印地图。这项研究设计的重点将是确定地图维度是否以及如何影响参与者以最少的脑力使用地形图的空间信息的能力。学习成绩将在每个小组完成阅读地图技能的常见后测时进行评估。心理努力将通过使用眼球跟踪分析对瞳孔大小和运动进行测量，这与参与者使用心理努力测量量表进行自我评级有关。在维度的基础上比较心理努力和表现分数之间的交互作用，将确定空间思维如何支持对地形图剖面的理解，以及哪些教学和学习策略可能适合不同维度的水平。

This doctoral dissertation research project will investigate multi-sensory visual and tactile interfaces for understanding complex spatial data. The project will contribute new insights to an emerging interdisciplinary research thrust involving geography and other spatial sciences, geoscience education, cartographic visualization, and cognitive psychology that examines how the dimensionality of a topographic map affects map users' ability to understand and apply spatial information. By comparing cognitive load and learning effects on the basis of dimensionality, the project will help identify the role spatial ability plays in supporting comprehension of map data and what instructional strategies may be appropriate for varied levels of dimensionality. The project will help improve spatial thinking abilities through the development of engaging instructional strategies and hands-on use of the innovative technologies in order to better prepare students for success in science, technology, education, and mathematics (STEM) careers. The project's research on multi-sensor interfaces will support further inquiry into the role of dimensionality as a factor in spatial thinking to advance STEM education that potentially can benefit a broad range of users but will have special value for kinesthetic learners and visually impaired individuals because of greater emphasis on interactive, tactile features of multi-sensory instruction. The source code and resources for teaching spatial skills from a subsequent map-reading instructional module will be made readily accessible to assist others in improving STEM educational capabilities. As a Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement award, this award also will provide support to enable a promising student to establish a strong independent research career.Recent innovations in three-dimensional (3-D) geovisual and tactile interactive displays can facilitate multi-sensory learning. While the presentation of mapped landscapes using two-dimensional (2-D) topographic contour lines for a map user requires transfer of abstract 2-D spatial data to visual the 3-D world, the augmented-reality sandbox, a 3-D tangible user-interface, enables users to touch and manipulate 3-D map surfaces in real-time. Learning is multi-sensory, because interactive tactile feedback complements visual feedback, but previous studies disagree about the learning effect of varying the dimension in which spatial information is presented. During the conduct of this study, the doctoral student will use an experimental design to assess the effect of map dimensionality on learning performance scores and on mental effort while controlling for differences in spatial thinking ability and gender. He will measure prior spatial thinking ability of research subjects using two widely used spatial ability tests, the mental rotations test and the paper-folding test. Geoscience undergraduate students will be placed into different groups based on their gender and will be randomly assigned to receive instruction conveyed through one of the three topographic map interfaces: the 3-D augmented-reality sandbox; a 2.5-D geovisual computer interface through which a 3-D image is superimposed on a 2-D computer screen; or a 2-D printed map. This research design will focus on ascertaining whether and how map dimensionality influences participants' abilities to use spatial information from topographic maps with the least amount of mental effort. Learning performance will be assessed as each group completes a common post-test on map-reading skills. Mental effort will be measured through the use of eye tracking analysis of pupil size and movement as correlated to participant self-ratings using the mental-effort measurement scale. Comparing interactions between mental effort and performance scores on the basis of dimensionality will identify how spatial thinking supports comprehension of topographic map profiles and what instructional and learning strategies may be appropriate for varied levels of dimensionality.