Immersive Virtual Environments for Astronomy Education

1. Immersive Virtual Environments for Astronomy Education Ka Chun Yu Denver Museum of Nature & Science Uniview Users Group Meeting 2013 Funded by NSF ROLE 0529522 and NSF DRL 0848945

2. Shape of the Earth (K-5) (Nussbaum 1985, Baxter 1989, Vosniadou 1991, Sneider et al. 1996)

3. Phases of the Moon (K-16+) (Trundle et al. 2002)

4. Other Astronomy Misconceptions • Lunar Phases (Kuethe 1963, Ault 1984, Jones et al. 1987, Treagust 1988, Baxter 1989, Vosniadou 191, Sadler 1998) • Seasons(Duit 2002, Bailey & Slater 2003) • Orbits(Dunlop 2000, Sadler 1992, Yu, Sahami, & Denn 2010) • Scale of the Solar System (Sadler 1992, Schneps et al. 2014) • The Big Bang (Prather et al. 2002)

5. Visuospatial Reasoning (Sadler 1992)

6. Textbook Diagrams

7. Orbits (Yu, Sahami, & Denn 2010)

8. Orbits (Yu, Sahami, & Denn 2010)

9. Orbits (Yu, Sahami, & Denn 2010)

10. Textbook diagrams (Bennett, Donahue, Schneider, & Voit 2007)

11. Textbook diagrams (Bennett, Donahue, Schneider, & Voit 2007)

12. Textbook diagrams (Bennett, Donahue, Schneider, & Voit 2007)

13. Difficulty of Learning Astronomy • Physical systems cannot be experienced directly • Mental model construction required • Erroneous mental models are hard to change • (Constructivist theory, A Private Universe, 1987) • Underlying principles also difficult to learn

14. 2D vs. 3D Learning • Much traditional classroom instruction (2D pictures, charts, slides, written descriptions) not helpful • Teaching one topic may lead to reinforcement of misconceptions in another topic • Computer visualizations & simulations recommended (Parker & Heywood 1998, Schneps et al. 2014) • Previous use of computer-based 3D visualizations (Barabet al. 2000; Yair, Mintz, & Litvak2001; Bakas& Mikropoulos2003; Trundle & Bell 2003; Küçüközer et al. 2009, Schneps et al. 2014)

15. Teaching with Immersive Virtual Environments • Multiple frames of reference • Exocentric and egocentric viewpoints • Range of size scales • Time variation

16. Teaching with Immersive Virtual Environments • Virtual Environments in Education: (Dede et al. 1996, Salzman et al. 1998, Dede et al. 1999) • Increases student engagement • Increased student motivation • Multiple frames of reference • Immersive vs. Non-immersive: • Better task performance(Bowman & Raja 2004, Raja et al. 2004) • Building cognitive mental maps (Pausch et al. 1997) • Physically Large, Wide FOV Displays: • Better female performance(Tan 2004, Tan, Czerwinski, & Robertson 2006)

17. PIs:Ka Chun Yu (DMNS), Kamran Sahami (MSUD) • Goal: Study the effectiveness of virtual environments for learning in immersive and non-immersive settings • Funded by NSF ROLE 0529522 and NSF DRL 0848945

18. Group I • Traditional Classroom Instruction • Textbook • Classroom Demonstrations • Traditional Multimedia (textbook CDROM & website) • 3D Physical Models • Additional Classroom Instruction • Group II • Traditional Classroom Instruction • Textbook • Classroom Demonstrations • Traditional Multimedia (textbook CDROM & website) • 3D Physical Models • Additional Classroom Instruction • “Flat” VE Software Visualizations in Classroom • Group III • Traditional Classroom Instruction • Textbook • Classroom Demonstrations • Traditional Multimedia (textbook CDROM & website) • 3D Physical Models • Additional Classroom Instruction • Immersive VE Software Visualizations Fulldome Theater

19. Topic Modules • Phases of the Moon • Lunar and Solar Eclipses • Seasons, Lengths of Day and Year • Kepler’s Laws, Orbits, Retrograde Motion • Scale and Structure of the Solar System • Outer Moon Systems, Tidal Locking, Orbital Resonances • Distances to Stars and Galaxies • Front-end evaluations (N≈120, ∼30 min) provide misconception resource.

20. Curriculum Products • Misconception Analyses • Lecture Outlines, Uniview Profiles • Weekly Curriculum Quizzes • Pre-instruction • Contemporaneous • Post-instruction • How can we determine if student learning is due to visualizations?

21. Seasons Module

22. Seasons Module

23. Seasons Module

24. Seasons Module

25. Seasons Module

26. Seasons Module

27. Seasons Module

28. Seasons Module Analyses N ∼ 657 (GI ∼ 126, GII ∼ 195, GIII ∼ 336)

30. Orbits (Sadler 1992)

31. Orbits (Yu, Sahami, & Denn 2010)

32. Teaching Strategies “The most important single factor influencing learning is what the learner already knows; ascertain this and teach him accordingly,” —D. Ausubel, 1968, Educational Psychology • Find out what the learner already knows: “pre-conceptions” or “misconceptions” • Design curriculum to address these alternative viewpoints