Engineering Human Body for Systematic and Computational Thinking

This Research to Practice Work-in-Progress paper discusses a next-generation learning system for K-12 students to educate them on scientific concepts surrounding the human body. Specifically, our gamified learning system is designed to make learning more fun, engaging, and effective through game and experiment elements that align with science and math learning standards. It will also increase systematic problem-solving and algorithmic reasoning for K-12 students. Since the human body can be thought of as a combination of interacting systems, the game also introduces students to computational thinking by introducing internal body functions. To achieve these goals, this project has two components. First, an educational virtual reality game will be built according to the natural human body structure. During the game process, students will experience the same as the human body functions, travel along the blood circulation, help with the heartbeat, and participate in oxygen exchange. While students are playing the game, our gamified adaptive learning system tracks and controls the student's learning progress. As the AI component collects student data and uses this information, our system adjusts game content and addresses possible learner issues to refine the learning curriculum for a faster and more effective learning experience. Second, a series of hands-on activities will be conducted based on the functions of the human body (e.g., developing an artificial heart and experiencing how the heart works). Through this project, an attractive and efficient next-generation learning system will be developed and used to expose K-12 students to this learning system. The education of students will be accomplished in different dimensions through games and hands-on practice, respectively. Additionally, compared to traditional learning methods, our learning system not only increases students' interest in learning but also makes it more personalized compared to the conventional learning process. Likewise, we will refer to the results of self-efficacy surveys administered to students and teachers separately to test their perceptions of their abilities and the new system.