ICLS 2000 Proceedings

A Virtual Environment Designed To Help Students Understand Science

Mark Windschitl & Bill Winn
University of Washington
College of Education
115 Miller Hall Box 353600
Seattle WA, 98195
Tel: 206-221-4736 Fax: 206-543-8439
E-mail: mwind@u.washington.edu, billwinn@u.washington.edu

Abstract: This paper reports research in progress regarding the effectiveness of immersive virtual environments (IVEs) in helping students understand complex scientific concepts and principles. The subject matter is the ecology of Puget Sound, in Washington State. The purpose of the project is to determine how different characteristics of immersive virtual environments are exploited by learners to improve their understanding of complex environmental processes, and to determine what aspects of the virtual environment facilitate or hinder this understanding. In this paper we describe: The conceptual framework that is guiding our work; the IVE itself, Virtual Puget Sound (VPS); the tasks students perform in it; and, the research that is currently underway. We conclude with some observations about the general role of IVEs in learning science.

Keywords: virtual reality, science education, visualizations, higher education

Preferred Citation Format:
Windschitl, M., Winn, W. (2000). A Virtual Environment Designed To Help Students Understand Science. In B. Fishman & S. O'Connor-Divelbiss (Eds.), Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference of the Learning Sciences (pp. 290-296). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

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The following URLs contain more information related to this paper:

http://www.hitl.washington.edu
This is the Human Interface Technology Lab website where descriptions can be found of the lab's work and related papers and reports.

http://www.prism.washington.edu
The PRISM web site has information about the broader project described in the paper. Material on the Puget Sound ecosystem and access to still and moving visualizations are available.

http://www.cev.washington.edu/learning_center/
The Center for Environmental Visualization has a growing repository of materials related to PRISM.