SBIR Phase I: Virtual Reality Based Curriculum for Increased STEM Engagement

这个SBIR第一阶段项目将为大学一年级的理科课程开发基于虚拟现实(VR)的课程。VR有可能改变STEM教育的教学方式，并最终改变学生的学习方式。该项目旨在建立虚拟现实科学课程，使科学教育更容易获得、更有吸引力和更有效，并将传统的STEM毕业生转变为留学生，这将对STEM留学生产生积极影响，以满足美国劳动力需求。VR科学课程将与大学现有课程一起使用，学生每周参加一节30分钟的虚拟课程。这些课程对学生表现的影响将被测量，以验证VR对学习结果产生积极影响的能力。该项目通过发展教育科学，开发使用科学方法的教育工具，以及衡量有效性来支持NSF的使命。此外，对改善大学科学教育的关注将改善劳动力管道，培养更多和更有准备的科学家。这项拟议工作产生的产品将使人们更容易接触到科学，为今天的学生培养未来的发明者、问题解决者和下一个伟大的头脑做准备。该项目的智力优势在于开发虚拟现实课程的方法，并通过使用数据科学将学生在课程中的表现与他们在课堂上的表现相关联来持续验证每门课程。每一节课都将阐述、主动学习、基于问题的探究和评估结合到独立的模块中，可以添加到任何现有的课程中。学生的行为和概念掌握在每节课中都会被跟踪；最终，将学生在VR课上的所作所为与他们的学习结果实时联系起来。这使项目团队能够验证每节课的哪些组成部分正在努力改善学生的学习结果，并不断改进VR教学方法。这种开发每一课和改进循环的方法是项目团队的关键创新。这项拟议研究的目的是评估在现有课程中加入虚拟现实课程对学习效果的改善程度，将学生在虚拟现实课程中的行为与他们通过课堂评估衡量的学习结果相关联，并评估教师使用虚拟现实的感知实施障碍。这将通过将VR课程整合到大学课程中并与对照组进行结果测量来实现。教师的反馈将通过混合方法研究来收集。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This SBIR Phase I project will develop Virtual Reality (VR) based curriculum for first year university science courses. VR has the potential to create a step change in the way STEM education is taught and ultimately the way students learn. This project aims to build VR science curriculum to make science education more accessible, engaging and effective, and turn traditional STEM leavers into stayers which will positively impact STEM retention to meet the U.S. workforce demand. The VR science curriculum will be used alongside the existing curriculum at universities, with students participating in one 30-minute virtual lesson a week. The effect of these lessons on the students' performance will be measured to validate the ability of VR to positively impact learning outcomes. This project supports the NSF mission by progressing the science of education, by developing education tools using the scientific method, and measuring effectiveness. Moreover, the focus on improving university science education will improve the workforce pipeline, creating more and better prepared scientists. The products resulting from the proposed work will make science more accessible preparing today's students to be tomorrow's inventors, problem solvers and next great minds.The intellectual merit of this project is in the approach to developing VR curricula, and continually validating each curriculum by using data science to correlate student performance in the lesson to their performance in the classroom. Each lesson combines exposition, active learning, problem-based inquiry and assessment into self-contained modules which can be added to any existing curriculum. Student actions, and concept mastery are tracked within each lesson; ultimately, to correlate what the student is doing in a VR lesson to their learning outcome in real time. This enables the project team to validate which components of each lesson are working to improve student learning outcomes, and continually refine the VR pedagogy. This approach to developing each lesson and the cycle of refinement is the key innovation of the project team. The goal of the proposed research is to evaluate the magnitude of learning outcome improvement achieved when VR lessons are added to existing curricula, correlate the student actions in the VR lesson to their learning outcome as measured through in-class assessments, and evaluate perceived implementation hurdles for use of VR by instructors. This will be accomplished by integrating VR lessons in university curriculum and measuring the results against a control group. Instructor feedback will be gathered through a mixed methods study.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.