CI-TEAM Demonstration: Interactive and Collaborative Learning Environment using Virtual Reality Games Promoting Metacognition for Science and Engineering Design in Context

Rowan University, Glassboro NJ

Investigators

Abstract

This proposal is an ambitious collaboration between Rowan University - a public institution, Tennessee State University (TSU) - a HBCU, the Educational Information and Resource Center (EIRC) - a non-profit educational organization, and four local vocational/high schools with a large population of underserved students (Burlington County Institute of Technology, Camden County Technological School and Bridgeton High School in New Jersey, and Pearl Cohn Business Magnet School in Tennessee). The focus is to design and implement a virtual reality (VR) game system that infuses cyberinfrastructure (CI) learning experiences into the pre-engineering/technology-based and engineering classrooms to promote metacognition for science and engineering design in context. Using city infrastructure as the theme and engineers solving real-life problems as the scenes, the games of future sustainable city design engage students, particularly prospective and beginning science and engineering students, in CI-enhanced and -enabled science and engineering discovery. More importantly, the games incorporate the access to visualization, simulation, modeling and collaboration tools, creating an interactive and collaborating learning environment for students to digitally explore science and engineering concepts via virtual analysis, design and production. The CI capabilities of the game system make it possible for learning to occur not limited to a classroom but in any place and at any time, fostering life-long learning that is a key for learners to adapt to the continuously changing nature of society. In addition, the explicit metacognitive strategies and context-oriented approaches addressed in the game improve students learning and prepare them to be a better designer, benefiting the society as a whole in the long run. With no additional software and hardware required, the game system can be installed and configured in any network server, and then run in any network-enabled personal computer, making our development cost effective and easily transportable. Considering the importance of teachers in raising student performance, the project will also design and run a 4-day CI professional development workshop to disseminate specific project information to the cadre of teachers. Additionally, an online Content Management System (CMS) will be provided by the EIRC for the workshop to deliver content and for teachers to reflect, share, and access information 24/7, ensuring a rapid, successful transition of our innovation to the benefit of broad students. Intellectual Merit: The focus of this proposal on the integration of 21st Century skills and CI facilitation and the particular setup of a pipeline involving high school and undergraduate students is a significant step in training future workforce to be life-long learners with a repertoire of cyber-tools and effective strategies that will prepare them for a rapidly changing and highly competitive marketplace. The systematic and coherent experimental content allows students to draw out their understanding of science and engineering fundamentals, transform factual information into usable knowledge, and consolidate their perceptions of information through integrated real-life design applications --- the best learning practice based on current research findings. Successful implementation of this "proof-of-concept" approach will advance our understanding of the roles that the CI-enabled VR games play in fostering student learning and retention, the specific processes involved with collaborative learning and interactive visual exploration for science and engineering design in context, and the complex interplay of metacognitive strategies, problem-solving tactics, knowledge and motivation. Funding of this proposal will allow a multidisciplinary team of qualified faculty to materialize such educational innovation. Broader Impact: The deliverable of a repository of educational materials is rich in (a) visual representation of science and engineering concepts that are not possible in pencil-and-paper formats; (b) ample interactions with the virtual environment as well as other content learners; and (c) unprecedented access to learning resources that are not limited in time and space. Those features blend informal and formal learning, enhancing, but more importantly enabling life-long science and engineering discovery that might not be possible in the past. The collaboration among two universities (public and HBCU), a non-profit educational organization, and four vocational/high schools with a large population of underrepresented groups naturally leads to a diverse setting that broadens the population of individuals participating in CI-enabled STEM activities. Our project Facebook, together with the project website hosted at Rowan, TSU, and EIRC creates a vibrant online community who can access our games in form of executable programs, the laboratory and game setup descriptions, and open source code of the development. This is particularly significant for outreach to other schools who wish to adopt our prototype, and further expands our learning network and communications, allowing people who are interested in this educational research and innovation to dialog new findings/problems from any venue for continued development. The well-established and successful outreach programs for K-12 educators and students at Rowan, TSU, and EIRC will further allow aggressive dissemination.