Elsevier

Computers & Education

Volume 57, Issue 3, November 2011, Pages 2095-2105
Computers & Education

Exploring relationships between students’ interaction and learning with a haptic virtual biomolecular model

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2011.05.013Get rights and content

Abstract

This study explores tertiary students’ interaction with a haptic virtual model representing the specific binding of two biomolecules, a core concept in molecular life science education. Twenty students assigned to a haptics (experimental) or no-haptics (control) condition performed a “docking” task where users sought the most favourable position between a ligand and protein molecule, while students’ interactions with the model were logged. Improvement in students’ understanding of biomolecular binding was previously measured by comparing written responses to a target conceptual question before and after interaction with the model. A log-profiling tool visualized students’ movement of the ligand molecule during the docking task. Multivariate parallel coordinate analyses explored any relationships in the entire student data set. The haptics group produced a tighter constellation of collected final docked ligand positions in comparison with no-haptics students, coupled to docking profiles that depicted a more fine-tuned ligand traversal. Students in the no-haptics condition employed double the amount of interactive behaviours concerned with switching between different visual chemical representations offered by the model. In the no-haptics group, this visually intense processing was synonymous with erroneously ‘fitting’ the ligand closer distances to the protein surface. Students who showed higher learning gains tended to engage fewer visual representational switches, and were from the haptics group, while students with a higher spatial ability also engaged fewer visual representational switches, irrespective of assigned condition. From an information-processing standpoint, visual and haptic coordination may offload the visual pathway by placing less strain on visual working memory. From an embodied cognition perspective, visual and tactile sensorimotor interactions in the macroworld may provide access to constructing knowledge about submicroscopic phenomena. The results have cognitive and practical implications for the use of multimodal virtual reality technologies in educational contexts.

Highlights

► A haptic virtual model simulates the specific binding between two biomolecules. ► Relationships exist between patterns of interaction with the model and learning. ► Visuohaptic coordination could offload the visual cognitive processing channel. ► Visuohaptic interactions provide access to submicroscopic biomolecular knowledge.

Introduction

Current computing technology provides humans with the opportunity to experience and interact with virtual worlds designed to depict natural phenomena. Other than perceiving information visually and verbally, modern virtual environments engage a user’s tactile sensory pathway. Haptics describes the perception of touch and force stimuli such as the texture, hardness and shape of objects (Lederman & Klatzky, 1987).

Exploitation of haptics in immersive virtual reality models holds exciting directions for education and training (e.g. Richard, Tijou, Richard, & Ferrier, 2006). Although studies investigating the role of haptics in science education are on the rise, Minogue and Jones (2006) have reported that little is known about the cognitive advantages of interacting with haptic virtual learning environments. In molecular life science education, where there is a growing emergence of such platforms in pedagogical contexts (e.g. Martin, Eid, & El Saddik, 2008), there remains a serious lack of empirical inquiry on aspects of students’ processing and learning with haptic virtual models. As part of addressing these shortfalls, we are investigating students’ interaction and learning with a biomolecular haptic virtual model developed by Bivall Persson, Cooper, Jonsson, Ynnerman, Ainsworth, and Tibell (2007), with a complementary objective of further contributing to empirically-based accounts of the cognitive merits and shortfalls of virtual reality environments for broader education contexts.

Section snippets

Students’ interaction and learning with haptic virtual models in science education

Virtual reality models that incorporate visual and haptic experiences show great promise for science education because they can stimulate knowledge-building experiences and provide novel learning settings (e.g. Richard et al., 2006). Reiner (1999) has considered students’ construction of force concepts during interaction with a virtual environment, while Dede, Salzman, Loftin, and Ash (2000) used a haptic virtual model to improve students understanding of kinematics. More recently, Wiebe,

Research aim

The purpose of the study was to explore any relationships between students’ processes of interaction with a virtual visuohaptic model of biomolecular binding and learning.

The fundamental process of specific biomolecular binding

The specific binding of one molecule to another is central to many biochemical reactions. A description of biomolecular binding is necessary to provide readers with the biological basis behind the haptic virtual system of interest to this study context. In this paper, biomolecular binding refers to a specific positioning and orientation of a ligand molecule (small molecule) into the binding site of a protein (large molecule) (e.g. Fig. 1A). The binding site is that location where the binding

Results

Findings are structured in three sections. Each successive section supplies a further level of detail consistent with the analytical direction of presenting overall relationships towards individual cases. Firstly, Section 5.1. provides an overall comparison of students’ data from the haptics and no-haptics conditions. Secondly, Section 5.2. reports the results from the PC analysis of relationships across five variables related to students’ interaction and learning with the model. Thirdly,

The role of force feedback in students’ execution of the docking task

In contrast with the no-haptics condition (e.g. Fig. 4B), haptic feedback could offer a visuotactile ‘map’ that allows for a physically realistic movement of the ligand (e.g. Fig. 4A). The tighter constellation of students’ final docked ligand positions in the haptics group (Fig. 2A) supports the channel-like docking traversal in Fig. 4A. Although such a ‘focusing’ effect may not necessarily result in a more accurate docking (Table 1), it certainly helps define potentially feasible

Conclusions

The potential benefits of the reported visuohaptic model can be summarised from an interactive, cognitive and conceptual perspective, which all have possible wider implications for the use of multimodal virtual reality systems in contemporary education and training contexts. Firstly, from an interactive viewpoint, the benefits of the virtual model with force feedback activated are that:

  • Experiencing haptic feedback helps students to perform fine-tuned ligand traversals.

  • Force feedback offers

Acknowledgment

The Swedish Research Council (VR Grant 2008:5077) and a postdoctoral scholarship from Linköping University supported this research. The authors acknowledge Mr. Joel Nises for programming the log file profiling tool, and are grateful to Dr. Gunnar Höst and Prof. Bengt-Harald Jonsson for valuable discussions.

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