2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

High School Students' Sentiments and Outcomes in FossilSketch Learning Activities

Presented at Computers in Education Division (COED) Track 5.D

FossilSketch was developed to address the lack of resources in undergraduate education for micropaleontology - the study of microfossils used to understand past environments and aid in
oil and gas exploration. Traditionally, training in micropaleontology requires specialized resources, such as microscopes and fossil materials. In such training, personalized instructor
feedback may require significant time and thus only be available in small classes. As a result, most institutions offer very limited micropaleontology exposure to students. FossilSketch was
developed to overcome this hurdle by providing accessible and engaging activities for learning micropaleontology. Its features include educational videos, step-by-step exercises, and
interactive mini-games that provide real-time automatic feedback, enabling independent learning while offering instructors tools to manage and track progress. In this study, we introduced
FossilSketch to high school students during an outreach program, SeaCamp 2024. We collected data that included students' outcomes (scores) in different activities. Also, the data were collected
using a survey that reflect students' perceptions towards studying micropaleontology using FossilSketch activities. We calculated the sentiment value of students' perception using the
Valence Aware Dictionary and sEntiment Reasoner (VADER) from the survey data. The following research question was addressed in the paper: What aspects of students' learning
outcomes from FossilSketch's activities shaped their sentiments toward studying micropaleontology? To answer this research question, we analyzed the data using Spearman's
correlation and XGBoost's feature importance values. Correlational analysis showed that three aspects of FossilSketch's activities showed a significant relationship with students' sentiments
toward learning more about micropaleontology: 1) Morphotype Matching Mini-Game Attempt Count (p=0.001), 2) Ostracod Orientation Mini-Game Average Score (p=0.041), and 3) Ostracod
Outline Mini-Game Average Score (p=0.035). The Total Average Score per Attempt of an Activity had the highest value in XGBoost's list of feature importance values while negatively
correlated with students' sentiments. Our analysis showed that students participating in activities more frequently had more positive sentiments towards learning more about micropaleontology,
even though they did not have higher average scores per activity attempt. The results of this study are novel and provide information on the effectiveness of FossilSketch for outreach
activities from the perspectives of high school students.

Authors

Mr. Sung Je Bang Texas A&M University [biography]

Sung Je Bang is a Ph.D. candidate in Interdisciplinary Engineering at Texas A&M University, within the Department of Multidisciplinary Engineering. He serves as a graduate research assistant on multiple projects, where he focuses on user experience and psychological aspects of technology. His research interests include artificial intelligence, large language models, user experience design, and engineering education.
Anna Stepanova http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5927-6536 Texas A&M University [biography]

Dr. Anna Stepanova is a researcher at the Sketch Recognition Lab at Texas A&M University. She holds a Ph.D., Master’s and Bachelor’s in geology. Anna’s research interests are in geosciences, micropaleontology and education.
Syeda Fizza Ali Texas A&M University [biography]

Syeda Fizza Ali is currently pursuing her PhD in Interdisciplinary Engineering at Texas A&M University. She works as a graduate research assistant at the Department of Multidisciplinary Engineering, where her work focuses on educational technology tools and student engagement. Her research is shaped by a commitment to broadening participation in engineering and fostering learning environments that prioritize student well-being.
Christina Belanger Texas A&M University
Dr. Tracy Anne Hammond http://orcid.org/https://0000-0001-7272-0507 Texas A&M University [biography]

Dr. Hammond is Director of the Texas A&M University Institute for Engineering Education & Innovation and also the chair of the Engineering Education Faculty. She is also Director of the Sketch Recognition Lab and Professor in the Department of Computer Science & Engineering. She is a member of the Center for Population and Aging, the Center for Remote Health Technologies & Systems as well as the Institute for Data Science. Hammond is a PI for over 13 million in funded research, from NSF, DARPA, Google, Microsoft, and others. Hammond holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science and FTO (Finance Technology Option) from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and four degrees from Columbia University: an M.S in Anthropology, an M.S. in Computer Science, a B.A. in Mathematics, and a B.S. in Applied Mathematics and Physics. Hammond advised 17 UG theses, 29 MS theses, and 10 Ph.D. dissertations. Hammond is the 2020 recipient of the TEES Faculty Fellows Award and the 2011 recipient of the Charles H. Barclay, Jr. '45 Faculty Fellow Award. Hammond has been featured on the Discovery Channel and other news sources. Hammond is dedicated to diversity and equity, which is reflected in her publications, research, teaching, service, and mentoring. More at http://srl.tamu.edu and http://ieei.tamu.edu.
Dr. Saira Anwar http://orcid.org/https://0000-0001-6947-3226 Texas A&M University [biography]

Saira Anwar is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Multidisciplinary Engineering, Texas A and M University, College Station. She received her Ph.D. in Engineering Education from the School of Engineering Education, Purdue University, USA. The Department of Energy, National Science Foundation, and industry sponsors fund her research. Her research potential and the implication of her work are recognized through national and international awards, including the 2023 NSTA/NARST Research Worth Reading award for her publication in the Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 2023 New Faculty Fellow award by IEEE ASEE Frontiers in Education Conference, 2022 Apprentice Faculty Grant award by the ERM Division, ASEE, and 2020 outstanding researcher award by the School of Engineering Education, Purdue University. Dr. Anwar has over 20 years of teaching experience at various national and international universities, including the Texas A and M University - USA, University of Florida - USA, and Forman Christian College University - Pakistan. She also received outstanding teacher awards in 2013 and 2006. Also, she received the "President of Pakistan Merit and Talent Scholarship" for her undergraduate studies.

Note

The full paper will be available to logged in and registered conference attendees once the conference starts on June 22, 2025, and to all visitors after the conference ends on June 25, 2025

« View session