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The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of multi-layered mentoring in summer engineering programs on confidence in understanding engineering research, engineering disciplines and the ability to conduct engineering research. This paper describes the work in progress towards incorporating this approach into summer programs at Rutgers University. The participants in the study included high school students from over 6 different high schools in New Jersey, coupled with in-service teachers who were participants in a National Science Foundation RET Site: Rutgers University Research Experience for Teachers in Engineering for Green Energy Technology and undergraduate scholars who participated in the REU Site: Green Energy Technology Undergraduate Program. The perceptions, understanding and evaluation of the program before the implementation of the multi-layered mentorship program are compared to the multi-layered program. High school students expressed higher confidence levels in the engineering design cycle and knowledge of the engineering discipline in the multi-layered mentorship program. Undergraduate students who were in labs where they peer-mentored teachers expressed higher levels of confidence in their skills as researchers than undergraduate students who did not peer-mentor in-service teachers or high school students. Future work will include enhanced data sampling, a revision of interview questions and assessment of participant’s understanding of concepts via quizzes.
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Learning Scale in Virtual Reality: Experiences and Perception of Immersive Technology at a Public Middle School
Students have misconceptions of size and scale cognition as they confuse molecules and cells. The team deployed a virtual reality (VR) learning tool, namely Scale Worlds, for K-12 students to use at school. The present work aimed to examine the experience and perception of immersive technology, and logistical challenges of integrating Scale Worlds into a science class. Ten students and three teachers were included in this study with informed consent. Scale Worlds was introduced as part of a science class and then semi-structured interview was conducted. Students’ experience with VR technology included physiological discomfort, psychological nervousness and uncertainty of technology, personal abilities and unfamiliarity, and hardware latency. However, students perceived Scale Worlds to be a useful tool that helped them visualize entities of different sizes, and allowed them to work collaboratively. Teachers expressed desire for more exciting content in Scale Worlds and further usability enhancement, as well as need for additional material preparation time. The team planned to return to the same middle school for another round of in-field study after addressing some of the reported challenges.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2055680
- PAR ID:
- 10640566
- Publisher / Repository:
- Sage
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting
- Volume:
- 68
- Issue:
- 1
- ISSN:
- 1071-1813
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 270 to 275
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1177/10711813241265650
