SBIR-STTR Award

The team will develop a prototype of an immersive virtual reality experience for high school students to learn about the scientific processes and the biology of plants. The prototype will be designed to be multi-player where groups of students collaboratively conduct open-ended cross-breeding experiments, record images to export to reports, track and analyze data, and draw conclusions. At the end of Phase I, in a pilot study with 50 high school biology students, the researchers will examine whether the prototype functions as planned and whether it shows potential for improving students' science content knowledge related to genetics, heredity, and traits, as well as their use of science and engineering practices.

Verdant will be an immersive virtual reality (VR) experience for high school biology students focusing on Mendel's investigation into the heredity of pea plants and the basis of genetics. In Verdant, students revisit Mendel's scientific process by designing and running open-ended crossbreeding experiments at the macroscopic and microscopic levels and recording results, as Mendel did, but in hours instead of years. Verdant is implemented over 2 to 4 weeks and includes time in the immersive VR environment and for classroom discussions. Teachers will serve as coaches and facilitators, guiding students when necessary, monitoring student progress, and offering just-in-time instruction to answer questions and reinforce key concepts and skills.