This Project Grant from the National Science Foundation Division of Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings will fund the development of haptic technology innovations to guide student gesturing with dynamic STEM visualizations from September 1, 2022 to August 31, 2025 for a total of $549,997.
The award will support a collaborative research project between The University of Iowa to design and develop a custom haptic glove that interacts with a computer visualization of a biological cell. The project aims to determine how sensory feedback delivered to students' hands helps them understand representations displayed in computer simulations by structuring science learning through guided hand movements and gestures across visualizations. Researchers will also use functional near infrared spectroscopy neuroimaging to study whether motor areas of the brain remain active during problem solving after using the haptic glove. Outcomes seek to advance understanding of when gesturing and touch feedback individually or together best enable science learning, addressing a gap in knowledge around symbolic versus concrete representations. The low-cost haptic glove technology developed could also have commercial applications. Results will be disseminated to science educators and industry under the NSF STEM Education program.
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