Supporting Science and Engineering Identity Development in Immersive Interactive Technologies

作为其加强非正式环境中学习的总体战略的一部分，推进非正式STEM学习(AISL)计划为各种环境中使用的创新教育研究、创新方法和资源提供资金。这项研究将利用增强现实设备和虚拟角色等身临其境的互动教育技术越来越多的可用性和可负担性，以调查它们在非正式博物馆环境中受益于STEM学习的潜力。该项目将结合这些技术来创建增强现实体验，让中学生和他们的家人在费城独立海港博物馆的一艘历史悠久的船上与虚拟船员见面，并为他们提供帮助。在这种游戏般的体验中，玩家将遇到20世纪之交的新技术，包括蒸汽动力、电力和无线通信。船员和技术将在1892年下水的美国海军最大、最快的军舰奥林匹亚号上恢复生机。历史背景将相对于当今的技术进行定位，其方式将使中学生对技术和工程技术的兴趣发生变化。这将为利用交互式沉浸式技术促进短期科学、技术、工程和数学(STEM)身份改变的可行性提供一个试验台。成功的可行性演示以及对设计的洞察力，可以开辟在非正式学习环境中培养STEM兴趣和认同感的新方法，并展示这一方法的影响。对社会的潜在好处将取决于关于非正式学习环境中沉浸式互动技术的基础科学的预期结果，以及展示综合评估方法的可行性。该项目将使用生活实验室方法来评估互动和沉浸式技术对中学年龄青年STEM身份转变的支持情况。这项为期两年的以设计为基础的研究将反复开发和改进测量工具，以证明身份变化是学习的基础。增强现实和智能虚拟代理的结合将被用来在一个非正式的博物馆学习展览中创造一种互动体验-虚拟和生活实验室-使人们能够改变对技术和工程的兴趣，并提供更多的短期评估工具。在与费城独立海港博物馆的合作下，这种方法的试验床将是一种在一艘历史悠久的船上将20世纪初的技术赋予生命的体验。通过应用参与式行动研究技术，与青年和家庭互动的智能虚拟代理人将定制与船舶任务和性能相关的STEM信息。探讨的主题将与当今的技术和科学理解联系起来。将使用混合方法来分析互动、访谈和调查数据，这将成为评估对青年STEM兴趣的影响的基础。启发式方法具体包括与身份变化的学习概念不太相关的评估指标。这项评估通过身临其境的互动技术，将针对STEM的优先参与领域以及对其成果的衡量。

As part of its overall strategy to enhance learning in informal environments, the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program funds innovative research, approaches and resources for use in a variety of settings. This study will capitalize on the increased availability and affordability of immersive interactive technologies, such as Augmented Reality devices and virtual characters, to investigate their potential for benefitting STEM learning in informal museum contexts. This project will combine these technologies to create an Augmented Reality experience that will allow middle-school youth and their families to meet and assist a virtual crew on a historic ship at the Independence Seaport Museum in Philadelphia. The players in this game-like experience will encounter technologies from the turn of the 20th century, including steam power, electricity, and wireless communication. Crew members and technologies will be brought to life aboard the USS Olympia, the largest and fastest ship in the US Navy launched in 1892. The historic context will be positioned in relation to current day technologies in ways that will enable a change in interest towards technology and engineering in middle school-age youth. This will result in a testbed for the feasibility of facilitating short-term science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) identity change with interactive immersive technologies. A successful feasibility demonstration, as well as the insights into design, could open up novel ways of fostering STEM interest and identity in informal learning contexts and of demonstrating the impact of this approach. The potential benefit to society will rest in the expected results on the basic science regarding immersive interactive technologies in informal learning contexts as well as in demonstrating the feasibility of the integrated approach to assessment.This project will use a living lab methodology to evaluate interactive immersive technologies in terms of their support for STEM identity change in middle-school age youth. The two-year design-based research will iteratively develop and improve the measurement instrument for the argument that identity change is a fundamental to  learning. A combination of Augmented Reality and intelligent virtual agents will be used to create an interactive experience--a virtual living lab--in an informal museum learning exhibit that enables change interests towards technology and engineering and provides short-term assessment tools. In collaboration with the Independence Seaport Museum in Philadelphia, the testbed for the approach will be an experience that brings to life  the technologies of the early 20th century aboard a historic ship. Through the application of Participatory Action Research techniques, intelligent virtual  agents interacting with youth and families will customize STEM information relating to the ship's mission and performance. Topics explored will make connections with current day technologies and scientific understanding. Mixed-methods will be used to analyze interactions, interview  and survey data, will form the basis for assessing the impact on youth's STEM interests. The elicitation method specifically includes assessment metrics that are  relevant to the concept of learning as identity change. This assessment, through immersive interactive technologies, will target the priority areas of engagement in STEM as well as the measurement of outcomes.