Increasing Accessibility to Field-based Sciences for College Students Using Wheelchairs

该项目旨在通过使用虚拟现实来增加轮椅使用者对考古学和其他领域科学的可及性，从而为国家利益服务。考古学需要第一手的实地经验。然而，挖掘地点的不可达性可能使使用轮椅的学生无法体验这些体验。缺乏实地考察的机会可能会妨碍学生获得考古学和其他以实地为基础的科学（如地球科学）方面的全面培训。该项目将适应目前可用的虚拟现实硬件，以适应轮椅使用者的需求，最大限度地提高可用性和舒适性。随后，该项目将创建一个身临其境的互动考古学课程，以满足使用轮椅的大学生的需求。在本课程中，学生将学习虚拟现实中考古挖掘的物理方法，从而获得实地工作经验。该课程还将通过专业考古场景中的指导活动，帮助学生学习使用科学的方法来解决问题。同时，该项目将评估基于场景的学习对学生动机和参与的有效性。该项目将采用普遍学习的目标，主动创造学习环境，以满足使用轮椅的大学生的情境需求（即教室和挖掘地点的运动和后勤）和功能需求（即通过系统的学习过程培养挖掘技能），用于基于实地的科学教学。该项目将采用基于设计的研究迭代程序，以整合和评估基于场景的学习。虚拟现实系统的测试和评估将以四个发展问题为指导：1)虚拟现实活动中的场景特征在多大程度上被清楚地呈现出来，它们对轮椅使用者与系统的互动有多大的帮助？2)虚拟现实活动如何增加轮椅使用者对设计活动的认知参与？3)在虚拟世界中，轮椅使用者在多大程度上获得了足够的系统反馈来完成分配的任务？4)对于使用轮椅的学生，虚拟现实活动需要在哪些领域和多大程度上进行修改？本项目将进一步研究基于场景的学习在吸引大学轮椅使用者方面的潜力，通过一系列基于现场和实验室的任务，指导以下研究问题：1)场景特征、他们的动机支持和学习者对虚拟现实活动的参与之间的关系是什么？2)所采用的设计框架如何将虚拟现实模块的特点与其在学习考古学中的动机和认知支持结合起来？拟议的研究将在为使用轮椅的大学生开发虚拟学习环境时推进理论和经验设计理论，并将产生一种改进的方式来呈现教育材料，以适应当前在认知和身体能力方面多样化的数字化一代。NSF IUSE: EHR计划支持研究和开发项目，以提高所有学生STEM教育的有效性。通过参与学生学习轨道，该计划支持有前途的实践和工具的创建，探索和实施。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project aims to serve the national interest by using virtual reality to increase accessibility of wheelchair users to archaeology and other field sciences. Archaeology requires first-hand field experience. However, inaccessibility of excavation sites may make these experiences impossible for students who use wheelchairs. The lack of access to field sites can impede students’ access to comprehensive training in archaeology and in other field-based sciences such as geosciences. This project will adapt currently available virtual reality hardware to accommodate the needs of wheelchair users, maximizing usability and comfort. Subsequently, the project will create an immersive, interactive archaeology class to accommodate the needs of wheelchair-using college students. In this class, students will learn the physical methods of archaeological excavation in virtual reality, thus gaining field work experiences. The class will also help students learn to use a scientific approach to problem solving by couching activities within a professional archaeology scenario. At the same time, the project will evaluate the effectiveness of the scenario-based learning on student motivation and engagement. This project will adopt the goals of universal learning to proactively create learning environments that address wheelchair-using college students' contextual needs (i.e., movement and logistics of classrooms and excavation sites) and functional needs (i.e., develop excavation skills through systematic learning processes) for teaching field-based sciences. The project will adopt iterative procedures of design-based research to incorporate and evaluate scenario-based learning. Testing and assessment of the virtual reality system will be guided by four development questions: 1) To what extent are the scenario features within the virtual reality activities clearly presented and how conducive are they to wheelchair users' interactivity with the system? 2) How do virtual reality activities increase wheelchair users' cognitive engagement with the designed activities? 3) To what extent do wheelchair users receive adequate system feedback within the virtual world to complete the assigned tasks? and 4) In what areas and to what extent do virtual reality activities need to be modified for students who are using wheelchairs? This project will further investigate the potential of scenario-based learning in engaging wheelchair users in colleges with an array of field and laboratory-based tasks guided by the following research questions: 1) What are the relationships between scenario features, their motivational support, and learners' engagement with the virtual reality activities? and 2) How does the adopted design framework align the virtual reality module's features with their motivational and cognitive support in learning archaeology? The proposed study will advance theoretical and empirical design theories when developing virtual learning environments for college students who are using wheelchairs and will generate an improved way to present educational material that is geared towards the current, digitally empowered generation that is diverse in cognitive and physical capabilities. The NSF IUSE: EHR Program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. Through the Engaged Student Learning track, the program supports the creation, exploration, and implementation of promising practices and tools.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.