Polar Explorer - A Virtual Learning Environment for Polar Science Education

Polar Explorer - 极地科学教育的虚拟学习环境

• 批准号: 2110801
• 负责人: Lisa Thompson
• 金额: $ 11.81万
• 依托单位: University of Arizona
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2021-07-15 至 2026-06-30
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2110801&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Polar; Explorer; Virtual; Learning; Environment

Scientists at Northern Arizona University, Arizona State University, the University of Arizona, and the University of Colorado at Boulder will collaborate to develop a digital learning environment called Polar Explorer for this Engaged Student Learning: Level III project. In this web-based, immersive environment, students will explore inaccessible polar environments and learn about polar science from their laptops, desktops, or mobile devices. The Arctic is a remote, rapidly changing region with extreme variations in temperature and sunlight. Much of the Arctic is underlain by permafrost, a layer of soil or sediment that is perennially frozen. Over the past three decades, the Arctic has warmed at twice the rate of the rest of the world and permafrost has started to thaw. Thawing permafrost can release enormous amounts of previously frozen greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, accelerating the pace of climate change. It can also threaten the food security and clean water of local residents, lead to the erosion of landscapes, the collapse of buildings and roads, and increased risk of wildfires. Thus, climate warming is transforming the Arctic, and this transformation threatens U.S. national security through its impacts on infrastructure, global climate, and public health. It is therefore imperative for the general public to understand how the Arctic is changing and why these changes have significant consequences for the U.S. and the rest of the world. However, teaching students about permafrost and its consequences is challenging because of the remoteness and inaccessibility of the Arctic. Polar systems are also complex and changes in polar environments occur on many different scales that can be difficult for the mind to grasp. Polar Explorer’s interactive, virtual field trips will leverage intelligent tutoring systems and virtual reality technologies to allow students to do science, rather than just being told about science. Using realistic, scientifically-accurate landscapes and learning experiences, students will experience and learn about the Arctic environment much like they would if they were physically there — regardless of a student’s socioeconomic background, physical ability, or level of academic preparation. Through innovative learning design and virtual reality technologies, Polar Explorer provides a novel and transformative approach for improving STEM education; one that will cultivate a sense of curiosity and connection-to-place and will generate new knowledge about STEM teaching and learning. The goal of this project is to design, build, deploy, and evaluate the effectiveness of Polar Explorer at increasing student conceptual knowledge of permafrost, its dynamics, and the consequences of permafrost degradation on ecosystems, infrastructure, climate, and society. Polar Explorer will consist of a suite of Learning Experiences (LXs) built around interactive Virtual Field Trips (iVFTs), connected via a high-resolution rendered landscape generated from real Arctic terrain data. Seven place-based LXs will cover topics of Arctic exploration, permafrost dynamics, indigenous perspectives on changing landscapes, and impacts of permafrost thaw on infrastructure, carbon feedbacks, and human health. Students will have autonomy in choosing their learning path through the LXs, which will leverage virtual reality technology, an engaging narrative, a diverse population of real polar scientists, and real-world data and places to provide context to student learning. An intelligent tutoring system will individualize the student experience and help address conceptual gaps in knowledge. Polar Explorer’s iVFTs will effectively promote active, inquiry-based learning and resolve the substantial accessibility challenges inherent to polar science. It is predicted that students will: (1) increase their polar science disciplinary knowledge; (2) examine and differentiate multiple scales; and (3) improve their comprehension of transdisciplinary connections in polar science. Polar Explorer will run on HTML5, which has ubiquitous support. The design of the student-driven exploration will target students in critical undergraduate introductory STEM courses, such as geology, earth science, climate, and biology. Overall the project will be assessed by analyzing student learning outcomes, and by formative and summative evaluations that measure the effectiveness of the iVFT-based LXs in meeting project goals. This project will provide much needed metrics on the degree to which iVFTs and adaptive digital learning environments, and the associated approach to learning design, promote STEM learning. Specific focus will be placed on how iVFT-based learning experiences help students work across scales and understand connections across STEM concepts and disciplines. This project, jointly supported by the Office of Polar Programs and the Division of Undergraduate Education, responds to the Dear Colleague Letter (NSF 19-086) calling for efforts that support the engagement of students and the public in polar research.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.

北亚利桑那大学、亚利桑那州立大学、亚利桑那大学和科罗拉多大学博尔德分校的科学家们将合作开发一个名为“极地探险家”的数字学习环境，用于“参与式学生学习：三级”项目。在这个基于网络的沉浸式环境中，学生将通过笔记本电脑、台式机或移动设备探索难以接近的极地环境，并了解极地科学。北极是一个偏远、变化迅速的地区，温度和阳光变化极大。北极的大部分地区都被永久冻土覆盖，这是一层永久冻结的土壤或沉积物。在过去的三十年里，北极变暖的速度是世界其他地区的两倍，永久冻土开始融化。永久冻土的融化会将大量先前冻结的温室气体释放到大气中，从而加速气候变化的步伐。它还可能威胁到当地居民的粮食安全和清洁用水，导致景观侵蚀、建筑物和道路倒塌，并增加发生野火的风险。因此，气候变暖正在改变北极，这种变化通过对基础设施、全球气候和公共卫生的影响威胁到美国的国家安全。因此，公众必须了解北极是如何变化的，以及这些变化为什么会对美国和世界其他地区产生重大影响。然而，由于北极的偏远和难以进入，教授学生关于永久冻土及其后果的知识是具有挑战性的。极地系统也很复杂，极地环境的变化发生在许多不同的尺度上，这对大脑来说是很难理解的。极地探索者的交互式虚拟实地考察将利用智能辅导系统和虚拟现实技术，让学生做科学，而不仅仅是被告知科学。利用真实的、科学准确的景观和学习经验，学生将体验和了解北极环境，就像他们真的在那里一样-无论学生的社会经济背景、身体能力或学术准备水平如何。通过创新的学习设计和虚拟现实技术，极地探索者为改善STEM教育提供了一种新颖的、变革性的方法；它将培养好奇心和联系感，并将产生有关STEM教学的新知识。该项目的目标是设计、建造、部署和评估极地探险家的有效性，以增加学生对永久冻土、其动态以及永久冻土退化对生态系统、基础设施、气候和社会的影响的概念性知识。Polar Explorer将包含一套围绕互动式虚拟实地考察（iVFTs）构建的学习体验（LXs），并通过由真实北极地形数据生成的高分辨率渲染景观连接起来。七个基于地点的LXs将涵盖北极勘探、永久冻土动力学、不断变化的景观的土著观点、永久冻土融化对基础设施的影响、碳反馈和人类健康等主题。学生将在lx中自主选择学习路径，lx将利用虚拟现实技术、引人入胜的叙事、多样化的真实极地科学家群体，以及真实世界的数据和地点，为学生的学习提供背景。智能辅导系统将使学生体验个性化，并有助于解决知识上的概念差距。极地探索者的ivft将有效地促进积极的、基于探究的学习，并解决极地科学固有的实质性可访问性挑战。预计学生将：(1)增加极地科学学科知识；(2)检查和区分多个尺度；(3)提高他们对极地科学跨学科联系的理解。Polar Explorer将运行在HTML5上，它得到了普遍的支持。以学生为导向的探索设计将针对攻读重要本科STEM入门课程的学生，如地质学、地球科学、气候和生物学。总体而言，该项目将通过分析学生的学习成果，以及通过形成性和总结性评估来衡量基于ivft的LXs在实现项目目标方面的有效性。该项目将提供急需的指标，以衡量iVFTs和自适应数字学习环境以及相关的学习设计方法在多大程度上促进了STEM学习。重点将放在基于ivft的学习体验如何帮助学生跨尺度工作，并理解STEM概念和学科之间的联系。该项目由极地项目办公室和本科教育司共同支持，响应了“亲爱的同事信”（NSF 19-086），呼吁努力支持学生和公众参与极地研究。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。