SBIR Phase I: Conceptual Learning of Calculus through the 3D Serious Game Series: Variant

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是显着降低微积分失败率。 微积分的成功是STEM学位课程持久性的预测;但许多学生没有成功完成微积分课程。这降低了毕业率，限制了STEM职业的招聘。最终，这一障碍影响了总统呼吁增加100万STEM毕业生。在玩3D教育游戏《变体》时，学生们被吸引到一个互动的世界和游戏中。 该游戏允许学生通过启发式的体验式学习环境，在不依赖定义，术语，公式和计算的情况下对微积分进行概念性理解。Variant帮助学习者掌握微积分中的核心概念，最终导致STEM学位的持久性，保留率和毕业率更高。该项目的重点是开发高等教育和中学（9-12年级）微积分的变体游戏系列。与目前依赖于重复练习或解决较低层次数学概念的游戏和家庭作业平台不同，变体提供了复杂的体验式探索。变体在教育严谨性和3D环境方面与其他游戏不同，这使得学生在学习微积分内容时更加投入和沉浸。一个隐形评估将被集成在游戏系统中，以提供实时反馈，并为指导者门户的开发提供信息。在不中断游戏体验的情况下，隐形评估测量玩家的知识增益，并验证游戏玩法作为学生学习目标实现的衡量标准。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to significantly reduce Calculus failure rates. Success in Calculus is a prediction of persistence in STEM degree programs; but many students do not successfully complete Calculus courses. This reduces graduation rates and restricts hiring into STEM careers. Ultimately, this barrier impacts the Presidents call for one million more STEM graduates. When playing Variant, a 3D educational game, students are drawn into an interactive world and gameplay. The game allows students to develop a conceptual understanding of Calculus without reliance on definitions, terminology, formulas, and calculations, via a heuristic, experiential learning environment. Variant assists learners in grasping core concepts in Calculus, which ultimately leads to higher persistence, retention, and graduation rates in STEM degrees. The proposed project is focused on developing the Variant games series for higher education and secondary (grades 9-12) Calculus. Unlike current games and homework platforms that rely on repetitive drills or address lower level mathematical concepts, Variant presents complex experiential explorations. Variant differentiates itself from other games in terms of educational rigor and its 3D environment, that allows students to be more engaged and immersed when learning Calculus content. A stealth assessment will be integrated within the game system to provide real-time feedback and inform development of the instructor portal. Without interrupting the game experience, the stealth assessment measures a players knowledge gain and validates gameplay as a measure of achievement of the student learning objectives.