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

国内关键矿物采矿生产的合格劳动力对清洁能源转型至关重要。然而，目前的美国矿业工程教育项目并没有充分培养出具有所需资格的矿业毕业生。缺乏对采矿工程所涉及的科学原理的深入了解是阻碍采矿工程师出色履行职责的主要因素之一。为了改善这种状况，需要对传统的采矿工程教育进行创新。本项目将研究沉浸式虚拟现实（IVR）技术作为创新工具在矿业工程教育中的应用，以泡沫浮选为测试课题。泡沫浮选是一个复杂的矿物分离过程，依靠物理、化学和浮选机之间的相互作用来回收有价值的矿物。该项目采用跨学科方法，与采矿工程、计算机科学与工程、认知心理学、学习分析和化学方面的专家一起，与跨国矿业公司合作，开发基于IVR的泡沫浮选教育平台。虽然主要的焦点是泡沫浮选，IVR平台可以应用于广泛的学习领域，通过替代新的内容。该项目还与内华达大学里诺分校的大学图书馆@Reality虚拟+增强现实实验室合作，为广泛的游客促进新兴技术的学习，包括大学生和教育工作者、北内华达州带着孩子的居民以及当地的K-12学生。该项目将以探究共同体（CoI）作为教学框架，并以动态评估方法作为衡量工具。将实现三个目标：1)确定CoI框架在IVR环境中的泡沫浮选教育背景下的含义；2)开发动态评估模型，使用在IVR环境中测量的CoI指标来预测学生的学习成果；3)证明在CoI框架内观察到的IVR应用并通过动态评估增强可以在多大程度上增强泡沫浮选教育。研究成果有可能在三个方面推进当前的最先进技术：1)采用创新的教与学平台，提高浮泡沫教育水平；2)通过理解CoI框架与动态评估的整合对IVR应用效果的影响，为教育科学增加新知识；3)从软件规范、设计与实现、可用性、测试与评估等方面推进IVR软件工程。该项目是解决美国国内关键矿产开采劳动力准备不足的关键第一步。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。

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.