Immersive Virtual Environments for Astronomy Education

Ka Chun YuDenver Museum of Nature & ScienceUniview Users Group Meeting 2013

Funded by NSF ROLE 0529522 and NSF DRL 0848945

Shape of the Earth (K-5)

(Nussbaum 1985, Baxter 1989, Vosniadou 1991, Sneider et al. 1996)

Phases of the Moon (K-16+)

(Trundle et al. 2002)

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)

Visuospatial Reasoning

(Sadler 1992)

Textbook Diagrams

Orbits

(Yu, Sahami, & Denn 2010)

Orbits

(Yu, Sahami, & Denn 2010)

Orbits

(Yu, Sahami, & Denn 2010)

Textbook diagrams

(Bennett, Donahue, Schneider, & Voit 2007)

Textbook diagrams

(Bennett, Donahue, Schneider, & Voit 2007)

Textbook diagrams

(Bennett, Donahue, Schneider, & Voit 2007)

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

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 (Barab et al. 2000; Yair, Mintz, & Litvak 2001; Bakas & Mikropoulos 2003; Trundle & Bell 2003; Küçüközer et al. 2009, Schneps et al. 2014)

Teaching with Immersive Virtual Environments

• Multiple frames of reference

• Exocentric and egocentric viewpoints

• Range of size scales

• Time variation

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)

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

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

Topic Modules1. Phases of the Moon2. Lunar and Solar Eclipses3. Seasons, Lengths of Day and Year4. Kepler’s Laws, Orbits, Retrograde Motion5. Scale and Structure of the Solar System6. Outer Moon Systems, Tidal Locking, Orbital

Resonances7. Distances to Stars and Galaxies

Front-end evaluations (N≈120, ∼30 min) provide misconception resource.

Curriculum Products1. Misconception Analyses2. Lecture Outlines, Uniview Profiles3. Weekly Curriculum Quizzes

• Pre-instruction• Contemporaneous• Post-instruction

How can we determine if student learning is due to visualizations?

Seasons Module

Seasons Module

Seasons Module

Seasons Module

Seasons Module

Seasons Module

Seasons Module

Seasons Module AnalysesN ∼ 657 (GI ∼ 126, GII ∼ 195, GIII ∼ 336)

Orbits

(Sadler 1992)

Orbits

(Yu, Sahami, & Denn 2010)

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