Supporting Cross-Scale Spatial Reasoning in Chip Design Education using Immersive Virtual Reality Learning Environments

Because of the projected workforce shortfall in the education of chip design and fabrication, this project proposes new approaches to chip design education that expand accessibility, scale, and engagement while cultivating a critical cognitive capability of spatial reasoning. This need is addressed through an immersive Virtual Reality Learning Environment (VRLE) that leverages the affordances of VR to develop Cross-Scale Spatial Reasoning (CSSR). CSSR is the ability to mentally represent, transform, and relate objects in space, across vastly different scales; from microscopic to vast macro-level environments. To that end, a comprehensive VR platform will be developed that integrates multi-scale visualization, embodied interaction, and AI-driven analytics to support semiconductor learning by formalizing and empirically validating Cross-Scale Spatial Reasoning (CSSR), defining measurable learning objectives and assessments that capture how students connect symbolic and geometric representations, designing scaffolding that enhances conceptual understanding and design transfer across stages of chip design, and linking learning theory with interactive system design. This project seeks to empirically investigate how immersive Virtual Reality (VR) environments can foster multi-scale spatial understanding and design fluency by asking the following research questions: 1) How do the spatial, interactive, and embodied affordances of immersive VR environments influence the learning of Cross-Scale Spatial Reasoning (CSSR) in chip design curriculum? 2) How can system design features, such as multi-scale visualization, adaptive feedback, and contextualized simulation, be computationally modeled to promote CSSR? 3) In what ways does improved CSSR translate to gains in conceptual understanding, procedural fluency, and design performance in chip design education? 4) How can insights from learner interaction data (e.g., navigation trajectories, manipulation patterns, gaze behavior) inform new models for assessing spatial reasoning in immersive learning environments? This project is funded by the Research on Innovative Technologies for Enhanced Learning (RITEL) program that supports early-stage exploratory research in emerging technologies for teaching and learning. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.