Improving Engineering Student Engagement, Self-Efficacy, Diversity Awareness, and Retention using Visualization and Virtual/Augmented Reality Technologies

该项目通过在建筑工程与施工（AEC）课程中创建可视化和增强/虚拟现实（AR/VR）教育模块来服务于国家利益，这将有助于提高学生对课程的坚持，自信和多样性意识。学生将使用可视化和交互式AR/VR模块在团队中完成现实世界的项目。学生之间的社会和技术互动将通过虚拟空间来促进，虚拟空间模拟物理会议室，学生可以在其中共享工程文物。学生的学习将得到交互式建筑环境、3D虚拟环境中的交互式练习和嵌入式音频/视频的支持，这些音频/视频可以为学生的设计决策提供反馈。学生将把自己想象成AEC专业人士，并从K-12或社区大学环境以及学位课程的第一年开始提高他们的自我效能感。在AEC课程中，更高级的实际工程经验将继续加强自我效能感和对工程的参与。内布拉斯加大学林肯分校和田纳西州立大学HBCU之间的合作将为学生提供一个与来自不同背景的其他学生互动的机会，并就不同受众的教育模块的有效性产生有价值的见解。虚拟研讨会系列将用于支持其他AEC项目、其他工程学科和高中教师采用这些模块。三个教育模块将在合作院校的课程中开发和实施。介绍模块将用于推广到K-12和社区大学，以产生对AEC领域的兴趣。剩余的模块将用于AEC一年级和二年级学生的现有课程。模块的设计由领域学习模型理论框架提供信息，包括其学习阶段和兴趣阶段的结构。模块的开发将关注课程的学习目标和AEC课程的目标水平。该项目旨在回答以下主要研究问题：1)一个模块如何影响学生的参与度、自我效能感和多样性意识？2)随着课程模块的引入，入学、留校和毕业率会发生怎样的变化？3)不同机构对前两个问题的调查结果有何不同？每个模块将为多案例研究提供基础，其中机构背景定义每个案例。丰富的案例描述和跨案例分析将指导模块的改进，突出模块可转移性障碍和可用性，并根据调查工具和访谈的数据解释结果。该项目将促进人们了解基于AR/ vr的学习模块对STEM教学的影响。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 serves the national interest by creating visualization and augmented/virtual reality (AR/VR) education modules in architectural engineering and construction (AEC) courses that will help improve students’ persistence in the program, self-confidence, and diversity awareness. Students will work on real world projects in teams using the visualization and interactive AR/VR modules. Social and technical interactions between students will be facilitated using virtual spaces that simulate physical meeting rooms in which students can share engineering artifacts. Student learning will be supported with an interactive building environment, interactive exercises in a 3D virtual environment, and embedded audio/videos that provide feedback on student design decisions. Students will visualize themselves as AEC professionals and increase their self-efficacy starting in K-12 or community college contexts as well as in the first year of their degree program. More advanced real-life engineering experiences will continue to reinforce self-efficacy and engagement in engineering throughout the AEC curriculum. This collaboration between a research-intensive institution, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and an HBCU, Tennessee State University, will provide an opportunity for students to interact with other students from diverse backgrounds and produce valuable insights on the effectiveness of the education modules with different audiences. A virtual workshop series will be used to support the adoption of the modules by other AEC programs, other engineering disciplines, and high school teachers.Three education modules will be developed and implemented in courses at the collaborating institutions. An introductory module will be used for outreach to K-12 and community colleges to generate interest in AEC fields. The remaining modules will be used for first and second-year AEC students in existing courses. The design of the modules is informed by the Model of Domain Learning theoretical framework including its constructs of stages of learning and phases of interest. Modules will be developed with attention to the learning objectives of the courses and the level of AEC curriculum that is being targeted. The project seeks to answer the following overarching research questions: 1) How does a module impact students' engagement, self-efficacy, and diversity awareness? 2) How do enrollment, retention, and graduation rates change as modules are introduced into the curriculum? and 3) How do the findings to the first two questions vary by institution? Each module will provide the basis for a multi-case study where the institutional context defines each case. Rich case descriptions and cross-case analysis will guide improvements to the module, highlight module transferability barriers and affordances, and enable interpretation of findings based on data from survey instruments and interviews. This project will advance knowledge about the impact of AR/VR-based learning modules in STEM teaching and learning. 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.