MolgenVR: An Embodied Learning Environment for Understanding Gene Regulation Inside the E. coli Bacteria

• In Event: Learning With Virtual and Augmented Reality: Examining the Theoretical, Technological, and Assessment Factors for Learning

Abstract

Theory
There is increasing acceptance that our minds are inherently embodied, that our perceptual and motor systems influence the way we construct concepts, make inferences, and use language (Barsalou, 2008; Shapiro, 2011). For example, a user’s physical interactions on tactile interfaces have measurable effects on his/her conceptual understanding of content (Authors, 2017). Some theorists suggest that it is likely “that activity in sensorimotor cortices causes conceptual activity (because they are substantially the same) and conceptual activity causes sensorimotor activity (for the same reason)” (Glenberg, 2015, p. 181). The emergence of more accessible virtual reality technologies provides us the opportunity to better connect embodied cognition and multisensory perception, and consider the implications for learning. This project examines the link between sensorimotor systems and conceptual understanding of a complex model using immersive VR as part of an authentic educational context.

Design & Implementation
We collaborated with a course instructor from [University withheld] to develop a virtual reality experience to explore transcriptional regulation of gene expression—a foundational topic in undergraduate biology that students struggle with (Cavallo, 1996; Lewis & Kattmann, 2004; Lewis & Wood-Robinson, 2000). A virtual reality simulation was co-designed and developed in Unity 3D in which students are transported into a virtual E. coli bacterium, with the components of a cluster of genes known as the lac operon as the students’ main view. Genetic material is scattered throughout the environment. Using the HTC Vive head-mounted virtual reality headset, they are tasked with putting together the genetic material in the correct sequence to complete the lac operon. Once completed, students then transcribe (or create copies of the genetic material) and produce proteins from the lac genes. Students experience firsthand the function of the proteins, for instance, a flood of lactose enters the bacterial above the student (i.e., where the cell membrane is located) when the permease protein is produced from the lacY gene. Further, students are asked to predict (by a researcher facilitator) what happens when the environmental conditions of the bacteria changes. Four scenarios were developed with varying levels of glucose and lactose. Student are expected to identify and explore relevant regulatory molecules in each scenario and the effect of the molecules on the dynamic system.

Assessment
36 students from a Microbiology course participated in the study, and were randomly assigned to two conditions: seated and standing. A 9-question multiple choice pre-/post-test, modified from the lac operon concept inventory (LOCI; Stefanski, Gardner & Seipelt-Thiemann, 2016), was used to assess conceptual knowledge. Both conditions were associated with significantly higher post-test scores (compared to pre-test scores), according to paired-samples t-test analysis, but no difference was found across the two groups (using an ANCOVA analysis). Interestingly, a delayed post-test of the LOCI suggests significantly higher scores in the seated condition. Biometric data, including heart rate and skin conductance, allow researchers to better understand students’ physiological states and make inferences about their cognitive load. On-going analysis of eye-tracking data and log data offer information about students’ visual attention and interaction patterns respectively.

Authors

• Michelle Lui, University of Toronto

• Martha Mullally, Carleton University

• Rhonda McEwen, University of Toronto