SBIR Phase I: Conceptual Learning of Calculus through the 3D Serious Game Series: Variant

这个小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是显著降低微积分失败率。微积分的成功预示着STEM学位课程的持久力；但许多学生没有成功完成微积分课程。这降低了毕业率，并限制了STEM职业的招聘。最终，这一障碍会影响到总统们呼吁增加100万STEM毕业生的呼声。当玩3D教育游戏Variant时，学生们被吸引到一个互动的世界和游戏中。该游戏允许学生通过启发式的体验式学习环境，发展对微积分的概念性理解，而不依赖于定义、术语、公式和计算。VARIANT帮助学习者掌握微积分的核心概念，这最终导致STEM学位的持久率、保存率和毕业率更高。拟议的项目重点是为高等教育和中学(9-12年级)微积分开发不同的游戏系列。与目前依赖重复练习或解决较低水平数学概念的游戏和作业平台不同，Variant呈现了复杂的经验式探索。Variant在教育的严谨性和3D环境方面与其他游戏不同，这让学生在学习微积分内容时更投入和沉浸。隐形评估将集成在游戏系统中，以提供实时反馈并为教官门户的开发提供信息。在不中断游戏体验的情况下，隐形评估衡量玩家的知识获取，并验证游戏玩法作为衡量学生学习目标的实现程度的指标。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to significantly reduce Calculus failure rates. Success in Calculus is a prediction of persistence in STEM degree programs; but many students do not successfully complete Calculus courses. This reduces graduation rates and restricts hiring into STEM careers. Ultimately, this barrier impacts the Presidents call for one million more STEM graduates. When playing Variant, a 3D educational game, students are drawn into an interactive world and gameplay. The game allows students to develop a conceptual understanding of Calculus without reliance on definitions, terminology, formulas, and calculations, via a heuristic, experiential learning environment. Variant assists learners in grasping core concepts in Calculus, which ultimately leads to higher persistence, retention, and graduation rates in STEM degrees. The proposed project is focused on developing the Variant games series for higher education and secondary (grades 9-12) Calculus. Unlike current games and homework platforms that rely on repetitive drills or address lower level mathematical concepts, Variant presents complex experiential explorations. Variant differentiates itself from other games in terms of educational rigor and its 3D environment, that allows students to be more engaged and immersed when learning Calculus content. A stealth assessment will be integrated within the game system to provide real-time feedback and inform development of the instructor portal. Without interrupting the game experience, the stealth assessment measures a players knowledge gain and validates gameplay as a measure of achievement of the student learning objectives.