Collaborative Research: Research Initiation: Formation of the Foundations for Engineering Intuition in Structural Engineering with Mixed Reality

大型结构系统的设计，如建筑和桥梁，需要执业的土木(结构)工程师了解物理建成环境与用于解释其行为的抽象描述、理想化描述和数学模型之间的联系。这种形式化的理解通常是通过经验发展起来的，并形成了工程直觉的基础。学生或见习工程师缺乏这种工程直觉，众所周知，在缺乏第一手观察的情况下，他们很难建立这些联系，难以构建抽象概念和复杂系统的心理模型，而这些观察很难在课堂上复制。该项目将利用混合现实技术，特别是可在移动设备上部署的移动增强现实应用程序，以加速学生在核心结构设计课程中的教育体验。在课堂上，技术集成将允许协作(同行和学生-教师)实时参与真实世界结构系统的模型，旨在提供物理表示和理论抽象之间的基本联系。本研究将评估技术整合对教学方法、学生参与度、学习结果和工程直觉形成的影响。这项研究将由一位在结构工程和技术开发方面具有专业知识、但对工程教育研究领域尚不熟悉的资深专业人员领导，并由一位经验丰富的工程教育研究人员提供指导，该研究员在网络学习、混合现实学习环境以及学生学习中空间能力和机械能力之间的关系方面具有互补的专业知识。这项合作将作为关于混合现实作为工程直觉发展加速器的初步研究，工程直觉是形成准备在技术驱动的世界中有效沟通的整体工程师的关键特征。这一拟议项目的研究目标将通过为学生提供一种参与他们打算设计的复杂系统的真实世界表示的机制，来衡量混合现实作为结构设计和力学中工程直觉发展的工具的有效性。为了达到这一目标，本研究旨在：1)评估混合现实教学工具对学生在抽象结构工程设计相关问题上的表现的有效性；以及2)评估该教学工具对学生参与结构工程主题的有效性。整合MR作为辅助工具的预期结果是，学生将不仅完成课程的设计过程，而且增加知识和空间意识的“为什么”和“在什么背景下”，这是发展整体结构工程师的一个重要组成部分。这项研究将从情境学习的角度出发，通过对引导的积极探索过程的有效性进行实证检验，以提高学生可视化和分析结构工程和设计问题背景的抽象描述的能力。在评估这一方法时，这项研究将回答以下研究问题：1)混合现实是否提高了学生对结构工程和设计问题背景的可视化和分析抽象描述的能力？2)混合现实在多大程度上帮助学生形成对结构系统中复杂结构行为和相互作用的理解？以及3)学生如何在探索结构工程概念时使用和参与混合现实内容？这项研究的结果将作为在其他面向力学的背景下探索混合现实和向工程界更广泛的技术传播的基础。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The design of large-scale structural systems such as buildings and bridges require practicing civil (structural) engineers to understand the linkage between the physical built environment and abstract descriptions, idealized depictions, and mathematical models used to explain their behavior. This formalized understanding is often developed through experience and forms the basis of engineering intuition. Students, or engineer trainees, lack this engineering intuition and are known to have difficulty making these connections and constructing mental models of the abstract concepts and complex systems in the absence of first-hand observations, which are challenging to replicate in the classroom. This project will utilize mixed reality technology, specifically a mobile augmented reality application that is deployable on mobile devices, to accelerate the educational experiences of students in a core structural design course. In the classroom, the technology integration will allow for collaborative (peer-peer and student-instructor) real-time engagement with models of real-world structural systems aimed at providing the essential linkage between physical representations and their theoretical abstractions. The research will evaluate the impacts of technology integration on instructional methods, student engagement, learning outcomes, and formation of engineering intuition. The study will be led by an experienced PI with expertise in structural engineering and technology development but new to the field of engineering education research, with mentorship provided by an experienced engineering education researcher with complementary expertise in cyber-learning, mixed-reality learning environments, and relationships between spatial and mechanical abilities in student learning. The collaboration will serve as a pilot study on the integration of mixed reality as an accelerator of the development of engineering intuition, a key characteristic in the formation of holistic engineers prepared to communicate effectively in a technology-driven world.The research objective of this proposed project will measure the effectiveness of mixed reality as a tool for the development of engineering intuition in structural design and mechanics by providing students with a mechanism for engagement with real-world representations of the complex systems they intend to design. To meet this objective this study aims to: 1) assess the effectiveness of a mixed reality pedagogical tool on students’ performance on abstract structural engineering design-related problems; and 2) assess the effectiveness of the pedagogical tool on students’ engagement in structural engineering topics. The expected result of the integration of MR as a supplemental tool is that students will complete the course not only with the “how” of design process, but also with increased knowledge and spatial awareness of the “why” and “in which context”, an essential component to the advancement of holistic structural engineers. The research will build from the situated perspective on learning through an empirical examination of the effectiveness of a guided active exploration process to improve students’ abilities to visualize and analyze abstract descriptions of the problem context for structural engineering and design. In evaluating this approach, the study will answer the following research questions: 1) does mixed reality improve students’ abilities to visualize and analyze abstract descriptions of the problem context for structural engineering and design?; 2) to what extent does mixed reality help students formulate their understanding of complex structural behavior and interactions within structural systems?; and 3) how do the students use and engage with mixed reality content in their exploration of structural engineering concepts?. The outcomes of this study will serve as the foundation for exploring mixed reality in other mechanics-oriented contexts and for broader technology dissemination to the engineering community.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.