Learning Nanoscience From A Nanoparticle’s Perspective: A Computationally Embodied Learning Experience

Abstract

An important new area of science and engineering relates to nanoscience and nanotechnology, which has been defined as “the emerging capability of human beings to observe and organise matter at the atomic level”. The purpose of this study is to examine a technology enabled learning approach that is informed by perspectives from an embodiment framework of cognition. The study aimed to enhance students’ understanding of challenging nanoscience concepts at the undergraduate level, such as surface area to volume relationships and size dependent properties. Students learned the targeted nanoscience knowledge using two different learning technologies: (a) the experimental group with Agent-Based Models (ABMs) and (b) the comparison group with dynamic visualisations. An empirical study was conducted to compare students in these two groups in terms of learning outcomes and reasoning strategies on assessments of declarative and procedural knowledge as well as solving transfer problems. Given earlier research that proposed ABMs provide an embodied approach for learning, three indicators based on an embodiment framework of cognition were used to compare these two learning approaches: (a) perspective taking, (b) causal inference making, and (c) reasoning strategies. The results of this study revealed no significant differences on declarative knowledge gains between the two groups; however, the ABM group significantly outperformed the dynamic visualisation group on the procedural knowledge and knowledge transfer assessments. Moreover, analyses of the post-test think-aloud video protocols revealed that the majority of the ABM students used first- to third-person perspectives, made causal inferences, and spontaneously used gestures, whereas students in the dynamic visualisation group did not. These results suggest that the ABM students were employing sensorimotor processes and mental simulations associated with an embodiment framework of cognition as they generated their solutions to these problems, while the dynamic visualisation students seemed to rely on memory retrieval of information from the videos. Overall, the findings of this study demonstrate that using ABMs to learn nanoscience phenomena can be more effective than learning with dynamic visualisations. In addition to the superior learning outcomes, students using the ABM approach demonstrated thinking and gestural behaviours that are consistent with an embodied framework of cognition. Given the extensive use of dynamic visualisations in science teaching, further research is needed to determine if ABMs might provide a superior approach for helping students to learn challenging scientific knowledge in nanoscience and other areas. Finally, it is hoped this study might stimulate further interest in research areas the nature of innovative learning experiences for understanding difficult scientific knowledge and their underlying theoretical mechanisms.