BCSER: Building Material Impact-Aware Civil Engineers: Virtual Reality as a STEM Education Tool

About This Grant

The NSF ECR Building Capacity of STEM Education Research (BCSER) program contributes to the NSF mission 42 U.S. Code Chapter 16 by building the US workforce undertaking STEM education research. The BCSER Individual Investigator Development in STEM Education Research (IID) track supports individual investigators who are new to STEM education research to develop foundational skills and gain practical experience to advance STEM education knowledge through mentored professional development and pilot research activities. STEM education research generates the knowledge, theories, and understandings on which viable strategies for improving STEM education and workforce outcomes are based. This project will integrate virtual reality to enhance self-directed STEM undergraduate learning for civil engineering students. The study supports ABET student outcomes, reinforcing professional responsibility in engineering education. This BCSER IID project will allow the PI to develop foundational skills and gain practical experience in designing and implementing cutting-edge STEM education research using innovative methods and tools. The project will help the PI to develop new expertise in STEM education research and technology-enhanced learning, working with a mentor and advisory board consisting of academic and industry experts on technology integration and instruction design, as well as industry practices within the construction domain. 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.