Fostering Interest in Science through Interactive Exploration of Astronomy What-If Simulations

作为在非正式环境中加强学习的总体战略的一部分，推进非正式STEM学习(AISL)计划为各种环境中使用的创新资源提供资金。这个项目将在沉浸式数字模拟学习游戏中提高科学兴趣触发器的设计知识。当学习者对一个主题感兴趣时，它会对他们的学习质量产生深远的影响。尽管人们对非正式学习经历如何提高人们对STEM的兴趣已有很多了解，但涉及技术使用和兴趣培养之间的联系的研究却少得多。这个探索路径项目将调查(1)中学生使用娱乐技术对STEM兴趣发展的影响，(2)专门为激发人们对天文学的兴趣而创建的互动教育技术的设计，以及(3)随着时间的推移与STEM内容持续互动的非正式学习资源。特别是，学习者将有机会通过“如果？”互动地探索考虑地球的替代版本的科学后果。问题，比如“如果地球上没有月球会怎样？”或者“如果地球是现在的两倍大呢？”在使用模拟时，学习者将被邀请进行观察，并对他们所看到的不同之处提出科学解释。鉴于最近在整个银河系发现了潜在的宜居世界，这些问题与围绕太空探索、生命必备条件和人类长远未来的公共讨论具有高度相关性。研究将在三个非正式的学习环境中进行：博物馆展览、课后项目和夏令营，并由以下研究问题驱动：哪些基于技术的兴趣触发因素对兴趣具有最强的影响？哪些背景因素是支持长期利益发展的最重要因素？而且，对于STEM中代表性不足的受众，哪种基于技术的触发因素最有效？这项研究将产生一种经过经验检验的培养兴趣的方法，使教育者能够利用“如果……怎么办？”在他们自己的工作中提供了教学方法，以及适合在非正式和正式学习环境中使用的可下载材料。计划中的研究将确定在激发兴趣方面有效的特征，重点是在STEM中代表性不足的群体，并详细说明让学习者参与解释性对话和服务于兴趣培养的重要性。据推测，以这种新颖的方式相互作用可以触发人们对天文学、物理学以及STEM的其他潜在领域的兴趣。设计迭代还将调查不同形式的学习支持，例如来自辅导员的指导、协作和模拟中可用的自动指导，并确定功能如何随着学习环境的变化而变化。收集的数据将包括跟踪兴趣发展的采访和调查数据，天文学和物理学知识的衡量标准，以及模拟使用的日志文件，以更好地了解模拟中的行为如何与所述兴趣保持一致。研究结果将促进对兴趣发展及其与互动体验的关系的理论理解，并将通过识别对激发中学生兴趣至关重要的特征，对在非正式环境中使用技术具有实际意义。该项目由推进非正式STEM学习计划(AISL)资助，该计划旨在促进对非正式环境中STEM学习的设计和开发的新方法和基于证据的理解。这包括为扩大获得和参与STEM学习经验提供多种途径，推进对非正式环境中STEM学习的创新研究和评估，以及加深参与者对更深层次学习的理解。

As part of its overall strategy to enhance learning in informal environments, the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program funds innovative resources for use in a variety of settings. This project will advance knowledge in the design of interest triggers for science in immersive digital simulation learning games. When learners are interested in a topic, it can have a profound impact on the quality of their learning. Although much is known about how informal learning experiences can promote interest in STEM, much less research has addressed links between technology use and interest development. This Exploratory Pathways project will investigate (1) the impact of entertainment technology use by middle school learners on STEM interest development, (2) the design of interactive educational technologies created specifically to trigger interest in astronomy, and (3) informal learning resources for sustained interaction with STEM content over time. In particular, learners will have the opportunity to interactively explore the scientific consequences of considering alternative versions of Earth via "What if?" questions, such as "What if the earth had no moon?" or "What if the earth were twice its current size?". While using the simulations, learners will be invited to make observations and propose scientific explanations for what they see as different. Given recent discoveries of potentially habitable worlds throughout the Galaxy, such questions have high relevance to public discourse around space exploration, conditions necessary for life, and the long-term future of the human race. Studies will occur across three informal learning settings: museum exhibits, afterschool programs, and summer camps, and are driven by the following research questions: What technology-based triggers of interest have the strongest influence on interest? Which contextual factors are most important for supporting long-term interest development? And, what kinds of technology-based triggers are most effective for learners from audiences who are underrepresented in STEM? This research will result in an empirically tested approach for cultivating interest that will allow educators to leverage the "What if?" pedagogy in their own work, as well as downloadable materials suitable for use in both informal and formal learning settings. Planned studies will identify features that are effective in triggering interest, with an emphasis on groups underrepresented in STEM, and elaborate on the importance of engaging learners in explanatory dialogues and in service of interest development. It is hypothesized that interacting in such novel ways can act as a trigger for interest in astronomy, physics, and potentially other areas of STEM. Design iterations will also investigate different forms of learning supports, such as guidance from facilitators, collaboration, and automated guidance available within the simulations, and identify how features vary with respect to learning contexts. Data collected will include interview and survey data to track interest development, measures of knowledge in astronomy and physics, and log files of simulation use to better understand how behaviors in the simulations align with stated interests. Results of the studies will advance the theoretical understanding of interest development and its relationship to interactive experiences, and will also have practical implications for the deployment of technology in informal settings by identifying features critical for triggering the interest of middle school learners. This project is funded by the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program, which seeks to advance new approaches to, and evidence-based understanding of, the design and development of STEM learning in informal environments. This includes providing multiple pathways for broadening access to and engagement in STEM learning experiences, advancing innovative research on and assessment of STEM learning in informal environments, and developing understandings of deeper learning by participants.