Excellence in Research: Mixed Reality in Engineering Education

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Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU) is an HBCU that graduates one of the highest numbers of Black engineers in the nation. This project is focused on increasing engineering education research at PVAMU using mixed reality (MR) as an active learning tool. In MR experiences, digital elements are superimposed onto physical environments and real-world objects and users interact with 3D digital elements through headsets rather than via a screen, thus providing a truly immersive experience. Mixed reality is an innovative and transformative technology that has the potential to improve learning, both in the classroom and in the laboratory, and offer students digital learning experiences that they find engaging and valuable whether they are in the same setting as their lab colleagues or participating remotely. MR technology is growing in importance and is already being used in a plethora of applications: business, medicine, and architecture to name a few. We will extend the use of MR by creating MR-based instructional environments to provide first-person, immersive learning experiences unavailable in traditional classroom formats and to measure their impact on instruction and students. Research has shown that students demonstrate better learning outcomes if their learning encompasses a strong experiential component. This project is actively seeking methods to implement a practical complement to classroom instruction. Mixed reality technology a first-person, immersive experience relevant to the learner which can bridge the gap between theory and practice without involving risk and expensive expendables while eliminating practical limitations (e.g., accessing the inner workings of an active process or structure). This project will create MR environments to advance Chemical Engineering as well as Electrical and Computer Engineering courses for students who are predominantly first generation and underrepresented minorities. The research planned will address five questions using descriptive, quasi-experimental, and qualitative methods. Descriptive elements include the degree to which specific forms of learning are achieved and what are desired applications for MR. Application of MR in engineering has the potential to increase accessibility for students by meeting people where they are, thus addressing equity initiatives while increasing opportunity for engagement and individualization of learning.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.