Increasing Accessibility to Field-based Sciences for College Students Using Wheelchairs

该项目旨在通过使用虚拟现实来增加轮椅使用者对考古学和其他领域科学的无障碍性，从而为国家利益服务。考古学需要第一手的实地经验。 然而，挖掘地点的交通不便可能使使用轮椅的学生无法获得这些体验。 缺乏实地考察的机会可能妨碍学生接受考古学和地球科学等其他实地科学的全面培训。 该项目将调整现有的虚拟现实硬件，以满足轮椅使用者的需求，最大限度地提高可用性和舒适性。随后，该项目将创建一个沉浸式的互动考古课程，以满足使用轮椅的大学生的需求。在这门课中，学生将学习在虚拟现实中考古发掘的物理方法，从而获得实地工作经验。 本课程还将帮助学生学习使用科学的方法来解决问题，通过在专业的考古场景中进行活动。与此同时，该项目将评估基于网络的学习对学生动机和参与的有效性。该项目将采用普遍学习的目标，积极创造学习环境，解决使用轮椅的大学生的背景需求（即，教室和挖掘地点的移动和后勤）和功能需求（即，通过系统的学习过程发展挖掘技能），用于教授实地科学。该项目将采用以设计为基础的研究的迭代程序，以纳入和评估以设计为基础的学习。虚拟现实系统的测试和评估将由四个开发问题指导：1）虚拟现实活动中的场景特征在多大程度上清晰呈现，以及它们对轮椅使用者与系统的互动有多大帮助？2)虚拟现实活动如何增加轮椅使用者对设计活动的认知参与？3)轮椅使用者在虚拟世界中获得足够的系统反馈以完成指定任务的程度如何？以及4）对于使用轮椅的学生，虚拟现实活动需要在哪些方面以及在多大程度上进行修改？本研究将进一步探讨以虚拟实境为基础的学习在大学轮椅使用者参与一系列实地与实验室任务的潜力，并以下列研究问题为指导：1）情境特征、动机支持与学习者参与虚拟实境活动之间的关系为何？以及2）所采用的设计框架如何将虚拟现实模块的功能与学习考古学的动机和认知支持相结合？拟议的研究将推进理论和经验设计理论，为使用轮椅的大学生开发虚拟学习环境，并将产生一种改进的方式来呈现面向当前数字化授权一代的教育材料，这些教育材料在认知和身体能力方面具有多样性。NSF IUSE：EHR计划支持研究和开发项目，以提高所有学生STEM教育的有效性。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project aims to serve the national interest by using virtual reality to increase accessibility of wheelchair users to archaeology and other field sciences. Archaeology requires first-hand field experience. However, inaccessibility of excavation sites may make these experiences impossible for students who use wheelchairs. The lack of access to field sites can impede students’ access to comprehensive training in archaeology and in other field-based sciences such as geosciences. This project will adapt currently available virtual reality hardware to accommodate the needs of wheelchair users, maximizing usability and comfort. Subsequently, the project will create an immersive, interactive archaeology class to accommodate the needs of wheelchair-using college students. In this class, students will learn the physical methods of archaeological excavation in virtual reality, thus gaining field work experiences. The class will also help students learn to use a scientific approach to problem solving by couching activities within a professional archaeology scenario. At the same time, the project will evaluate the effectiveness of the scenario-based learning on student motivation and engagement. This project will adopt the goals of universal learning to proactively create learning environments that address wheelchair-using college students' contextual needs (i.e., movement and logistics of classrooms and excavation sites) and functional needs (i.e., develop excavation skills through systematic learning processes) for teaching field-based sciences. The project will adopt iterative procedures of design-based research to incorporate and evaluate scenario-based learning. Testing and assessment of the virtual reality system will be guided by four development questions: 1) To what extent are the scenario features within the virtual reality activities clearly presented and how conducive are they to wheelchair users' interactivity with the system? 2) How do virtual reality activities increase wheelchair users' cognitive engagement with the designed activities? 3) To what extent do wheelchair users receive adequate system feedback within the virtual world to complete the assigned tasks? and 4) In what areas and to what extent do virtual reality activities need to be modified for students who are using wheelchairs? This project will further investigate the potential of scenario-based learning in engaging wheelchair users in colleges with an array of field and laboratory-based tasks guided by the following research questions: 1) What are the relationships between scenario features, their motivational support, and learners' engagement with the virtual reality activities? and 2) How does the adopted design framework align the virtual reality module's features with their motivational and cognitive support in learning archaeology? The proposed study will advance theoretical and empirical design theories when developing virtual learning environments for college students who are using wheelchairs and will generate an improved way to present educational material that is geared towards the current, digitally empowered generation that is diverse in cognitive and physical capabilities. The NSF IUSE: EHR Program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. Through the Engaged Student Learning track, the program supports the creation, exploration, and implementation of promising practices and tools.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.