Impact of Utilizing Immersive Virtual Reality and Dynamic Assessment on Mining Engineering Education from the Community of Inquiry Perspective

从探究社区的角度来看，利用沉浸式虚拟现实和动态评估对采矿工程教育的影响

• 批准号: 2202640
• 负责人: Pengbo Chu
• 金额: $ 84.97万
• 依托单位: Board of Regents, NSHE, obo University of Nevada, Reno
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-08-15 至 2025-07-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2202640&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Impact; Utilizing; Immersive; Virtual; Reality

A qualified workforce for domestic mining production of critical minerals is essential to a clean energy transition. However, current U.S. mining engineering education programs are not adequately producing mining graduates with the desired qualifications. A lack of in-depth understanding of the scientific principles involved in mining engineering is one the primary factors prohibiting mining engineers from excelling in their duties. To improve the situation, innovations are needed to transform traditional mining engineering education. This project will study the application of immersive virtual reality (IVR) technology as an innovative tool to improve mining engineering education, with froth flotation as a test topic. Froth flotation is a complex three-phase mineral separation process that relies on interactions between physics, chemistry, and the flotation machine to recover valuable minerals. The project takes an interdisciplinary approach, with experts in mining engineering, computer science and engineering, cognitive psychology, learning analytics, and chemistry, working alongside multi-national mining companies to develop an IVR based platform for froth flotation education. Although the primary focus is on froth flotation, the IVR platform can be applied to a broad range of learning domains by substituting new content. The project also collaborates with the University Libraries @Reality Virtual + Augmented Reality Lab at the University of Nevada, Reno to promote learning with emerging technologies for a wide range of visitors, including university students and educators, Northern Nevada residents with their young children, and local K-12 students. The project will be conducted with the community of inquiry (CoI) as the pedagogical framework and a dynamic assessment approach as a measurement tool. Three objectives will be achieved: 1) determining the implications of the CoI framework in an IVR environment in the context of froth flotation education, 2) developing dynamic assessment models to predict students’ learning outcomes using the CoI indicators measured in the IVR environment, and 3) demonstrating to what extent the application of IVR observed within the CoI framework and augmented by dynamic assessment can enhance froth flotation education. The research outcomes can potentially advance the current state-of-the-art in three areas: 1) improving froth flotation education by adopting an innovative teaching and learning platform, 2) adding new knowledge to the science of education by understanding how the integration of the CoI framework and dynamic assessment can impact the efficacy of the IVR application, and 3) advancing IVR software engineering in terms of software specification, design and implementation, usability, and testing and evaluation. This project is a critical first step in addressing gaps in the preparation of a U.S. workforce for domestic mining of critical minerals.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.

关键矿物质的国内采矿生产的合格劳动力对于清洁能源过渡至关重要。但是，当前的美国采矿工程教育计划并未充分培养具有所需资格的采矿毕业生。对采矿工程所涉及的科学原则缺乏深入的了解是禁止采矿工程师出色地担任其职责的主要因素。为了改善情况，需要创新来改变传统的采矿工程教育。该项目将研究身临其境虚拟现实（IVR）技术作为改善采矿工程教育的创新工具，并以泡沫浮选为测试主题。泡沫浮选是一个复杂的三相矿物分离过程，它依靠物理，化学和浮选机之间的相互作用来恢复有价值的矿物质。该项目采用了跨学科的方法，与采矿工程，计算机科学和工程，认知心理学，学习分析和化学方面的专家一起，与跨国矿业公司一起开发基于IVR的平台，以进行Farth Flotation教育。尽管主要的重点是泡沫浮选，但可以通过替换新内容来应用IVR平台，以应用于广泛的学习域。该项目还与内华达大学内华达大学的大学图书馆合作@Reality Virtual +增强真人秀实验室，以促进新兴技术的学习，包括大学生和教育工作者，内华达州北部居民，带有年幼的孩子和本地K-12学生。该项目将以调查社区（COI）作为教学框架和动态评估方法作为测量工具进行。将实现三个目标：1）确定在泡沫教育的背景下，确定COI框架在IVR环境中的含义，2）开发动态评估模型，使用IVR环境中测得的COI指标预测学生的学习成果，以及3）通过在COI框架和增强中观察到IVR在何种程度上可以增强IVR的应用。 The research outcomes can potentially advance the current state-of-the-art in three areas: 1) improving froth floth education by adopting an innovative teaching and learning platform, 2) adding new knowledge to the science of education by understanding how the integration of the CoI framework and dynamic assessment can impact the efficiency of the IVR application, and 3) advancing IVR software engineering in terms of software specification, design and implementation, usability, and testing and evaluation.该项目是解决美国国内开采关键未成年人劳动力方面的差距的关键第一步。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并使用基金会的知识分子优点和更广泛的影响审查标准，通过评估来诚实地支持支持。

项目成果

An Industry Perspective on the Current US Metal Mining Engineering Education

当前美国金属采矿工程教育的行业视角

• DOI: 10.1007/s42461-023-00782-6
• 发表时间: 2023
• 期刊: Metallurgy & Exploration
• 作者: Chen, Li-Ting;Liu, Leping;Urade, Sachin;Chu, Pengbo
• 通讯作者: Chu, Pengbo