Collaborative Research: Enhancing Undergraduate STEM Learning by Mitigating Misalignment of Augmented Capability in Assistive Technology Use for Construction Education

About This Grant

This Level 1 Engaged Student Learning project aims to serve the national interest by preparing construction professionals to safely and efficiently work with rapidly advancing assistive technologies, such as exoskeletons and virtual or augmented reality tools. These technologies hold great promise for improving safety and productivity, but they also pose risks when their capabilities do not align with the abilities of human users. This mismatch, called Misalignment of Augmented Capability, can lead to overreliance, reduced skill development, or safety concerns. By helping students recognize and manage these risks, this project fosters critical thinking, responsible decision-making, and technological fluency. Hands-on and scenario-based learning activities will ensure that all students are equipped to thrive in a technology-driven workforce. The resulting educational modules, (a) Learn Physical and Cognitive Misalignment and (b) Learn Spatial Reasoning Misalignment, are expected to promote experiential learning as well as advance the theoretical foundation for human-technology interaction in STEM education. This project also includes outreach to K-12 students and partnerships with industry to expand its broader importance. By creating scalable educational tools, this initiative promotes innovation and educational excellence while addressing workforce needs in a changing technological landscape. Through design-based implementation research informed by situated learning theory, this project will develop and evaluate experiential and scenario-based Misalignment of Augmented Capability learning modules. These modules will be implemented in undergraduate construction education curricula and involve hands-on activities with assistive technologies to simulate real-world decision-making. Driven by the overarching goal to enhance educational efficacy and safety in construction management technology, specific objectives are to (1) investigate and analyze the risks of misalignments of augmented capability from using assistive technologies (i.e., exoskeleton and immersive tools) in construction, (2) enhance the awareness of capability misalignment associated with assistive technologies in construction education, and (3) develop student proficiency in evaluating and addressing capability misalignments associated with assistive technologies to ensure their safe and effective implementation in construction management. This project advances the understanding of capability gains and losses associated with assistive technologies, including exoskeletons for kinetic capabilities, and virtual and augmented realities for spatial reasoning capabilities. By generating empirical data on students' learning outcomes, this project will advance curriculum design and instructional strategies in STEM education. It will also produce scalable and evidence-based educational resources for nationwide use, directly contributing to the preparation of a safety-conscious, and technologically adept construction workforce. The project outcomes have the potential to broaden participation in STEM and lay the groundwork for long-term transformation in how future construction professionals are educated to work with rapidly evolving technologies. The NSF IUSE: EDU Program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. Through the Engaged Student Learning track, the program supports the creation, exploration, and implementation of promising practices and tools. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.