Project summary:

Recent developments in wireless and sensor technologies make it possible for computational power to be embedded in objects and the environment. These objects and locations can be networked together in a number of different ways, and can be linked to various forms of digital representation, such as an image or animation on a screen display, a sound, or even a change in the object itself. Combining physical objects and real world environments with digital enhancement in this way offers the opportunity for learners to explore physical or scientific phenomena in new ways, giving them access to information not normally available in the physical world. Although several research studies demonstrate the technical possibilities of such ‘tangible environments’, little is known about their particular value for learning.

This project will undertake a more systematic investigation to understand how different ways of linking together objects, environments and information affect the way that learners interact with and understand scientific ideas. Based on a research framework, which identifies design characteristics of tangible artefacts and related representations (i.e., the different ways of linking information and representations of scientific phenomena to objects and actions placed upon those objects), tangible artefacts and representations will be designed, developed and linked to support students’ science learning. Data from empirical studies will be analysed to explore the impact of different design variables on interaction and cognition, and to provide an explanation of how the different artefact-representation relationships support different kinds of learning. This will extend and enrich existing theoretical frameworks (e.g., external cognition) to adequately account for novel aspects of learning that arise in the context of tangible learning environments, and inform the design of such environments and ways in which they can be effectively integrated into learning contexts.