SBIR Phase I: An Environmental Geology Game for Discovery-oriented Science and Mathematics Education

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段的研究项目旨在解决环境科学教育日益增长的需求。该项目的重点是开发一个动态的，基于组的，沉浸式的虚拟环境（IVE）。该项目的主要创新在于三个富有成效的研究路线的交叉点。首先，伊韦斯显示了科学课堂上的学习成果。第二，无论从雇主的角度还是从教育者的角度来看，小组学习都越来越重要。最后，我们社会的快节奏和即时性要求个人对动态事件做出快速有效的反应。这三者的结合将导致一个新的，潜在的更内在的激励，教学环境科学的方法。将进行一项研究，以确定在学习成果和态度措施方面的方法的有效性，使用高中学生在受控的实验室设置。高中生的“随意采用程度”将通过为相关项目开发的“着陆点”进行评估。在该项目结束时，IVE将是一个完整的实验验证软件包，可用于第二阶段向多个市场分发。在经合组织最近对发达国家进行的国际研究中，美国在具有高度熟练的环境科学技能和知识的人口百分比方面排名第21位。这提出了一个市场需要实验验证的教学软件解决方案，符合国家和国家标准。与此同时，环境问题正在成为国家思想的前沿。这为注重环境的IVE软件提供了独特的商业机会。市场的主要参与者包括教育出版商和软件开发商。竞争技术主要是非沉浸式视频剪辑，简单的一次性活动，或者在最好的情况下，具有单一结果的静态游戏。我们的解决方案比这些公司开发的产品更好，因为它通过将三种新兴技术引入环境科学课程而引领潮流。这个项目是专门利用密歇根州和缅因州等州提出的一对一倡议，通过出口屏幕和着陆点相结合，每年有成千上万的学生可以访问。该项目开发的软件将由对环境科学和当前热门的“绿色”问题感兴趣的高中生以及对为孩子提供更完整和社会相关的科学教育感兴趣的父母购买。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I research project aims to solve a growing need for environmental science education. The project focusses on the development of a dynamic, group-based, immersive virtual environment (IVE). The primary innovation of the project lies at the intersection of three fruitful lines of research. First, IVEs show improved learning gains in science classrooms. Second, group learning is increasingly important, both from an employer's viewpoint and an educator's viewpoint. Finally, the fast-paced, immediate nature of our society requires individuals to respond quickly and effectively to dynamic events. The combination of these three will lead to a new, and potentially more intrinsically motivating, method of teaching environmental science. A study will be performed to determine the efficacy of the approach in terms of both learning outcomes and attitudinal measures, using high school students in a controlled laboratory setting. The 'degree of casual adoption' among high school students will be assessed through the 'landing site' developed for a related project. At the conclusion of the project, the IVE will be a fully-contained experimentally validated software package feasible for Phase II distribution to a number of markets.In the recent OECD international study of developed countries, the US ranked 21st in the percentage of the population with a high proficiency of environmental science skills and knowledge. This presents a marketable need for experimentally validated pedagogical software solutions that align with state and national standards. Meanwhile, environmental issues are reaching the forefront of national thought. This provides unique commercial opportunities for environmentally focused IVE software. Key players in the market include educational publishers and software developers. Competing technology is mainly non-immersive video clips, simple one-off activities, or in the best case, static games with a single outcome. Our solution is better than products developed by these companies because it leads the way by bringing three emerging technologies to bear on an environmental science curriculum. This project is tailored to take advantage of the One-to-One Initiative arising in states such as Michigan and Maine, through a combination of exit screens and landing sites with potential to be accessed by thousands of students per year. The software developed from this project will be purchased by high school students interested in environmental science and 'green' issues currently topical, and by parents interested in providing their children a more complete and socially relevant science education.