Research Statement
As an undergraduate I was drawn to the stories and experiences that humanistic inquiry opened to me. I still recall visiting the ruins of castle Rauhenstein, precariously situated atop an outcropping of dolomitic limestone overlooking the Schwechat River in Lower Austria. As I walked through the silent gray landscape, fog drifting slowly through the trees and around broken stone walls, my mind began to fill in the empty spaces. Who were the people who lived here? What did their daily life look like? Would they have been familiar with the medieval epic poetry I was reading in my German literature class? The humanities invited me to see the world from the perspective of another person, to live among them, to hear their language being spoken and their stories being told, and to experience what deeply moves them. Through its ability to insert a user into a simulated and fully interactive environment and to create a psychological sense of immersive presence, virtual reality (VR) is a valuable and potent tool for passing on these perspectives, stories, and experiences to a new generation of students.
My research investigates how VR and other extended reality (XR) experiences, including 360-degree video, augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR), can best be designed, developed, and deployed to support learning in humanistic and scientific disciplines. This research encompasses two tracks. The first examines the learning that occurs in the interdisciplinary teams of students, faculty and staff as they collaboratively develop these XR experiences, how the activity of these teams can best be configured to facilitate more effective project-based learning, and how this learning can be used to complement or challenge existing post-secondary pedagogical approaches. The second investigates how the affordances of XR experiences – such as interactivity, visualization, goal-directed activity, and presence – can be leveraged to promote more effective learning. This research track looks primarily at how user activity in an XR experience generates mental narratives that help learners structure, organize, and process situated and procedural knowledge.
My first research track finds expression in the Grinnell College Immersive Experiences Lab (GCIEL), which I launched with support from internal grant funding. GCIEL functions as intellectual and physical space for students, faculty, and staff to work together on interdisciplinary project teams, to coalesce around a project as a community of inquiry and practice, and to develop proficiency in industry-standard software and Agile project workflows. Frequently used software platforms include 3ds Max and Blender (3D modeling, animation, and UV mapping), Substance Painter (procedural texture creation), Unity (game engine programming in C#), Modelio (UML diagramming), XR Interaction Toolkit and VRTK (C# Unity VR interaction packages), 3DF Zephyr and Autodesk ReCap (photogrammetry), and peel 3d (3D scanning). GCIEL has been mentioned in an article on VR appearing in The Chronicle of Higher Education, in a section of the 2020 EDUCAUSE Horizon Report, and in an EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI) brief. The lab was also highlighted in a special issue of the University-Industry Innovation Magazine focusing on extended reality (XR) technologies and digital disruption in the higher education sector, and a case study of the lab and its activity appeared in a special issue of the Journal of Interactive Technology and & Pedagogy examining the potential of XR in university-level teaching and learning. In addition, GCIEL and its facilities supported publication of a report that appeared in Research and Learning Technology describing the use of full-body motion capture and VR to teach movement science to an undergraduate psychology course.
Students in GCIEL work on a wide range of VR development projects, including a recreation of a Viking meadhall based on the Old English poem Beowulf, a recreation of a 19th-century Louisiana sugar plantation, a game for teaching environmentalism in authentic German linguistic and sociocultural contexts, and immersive visualizations of mathematical concepts such as special curvature properties of quadric surfaces, ruled surfaces, graph coloring, and graph isomorphisms. Whenever possible, project development is complemented by site-based research, which helps the students verify the historical and sociocultural accuracy of the experience they are creating; in the past this research has been conducted in Louisiana, Iceland, and Denmark. These site-based research opportunities and interdisciplinary project teams have contributed positively to student learning outcomes. In a focus group of students working on the sugar plantation project, students identified their learning benefits to include the opportunity for interdisciplinary collaboration, involvement in a long-term digital project, honing team communication and time management skills, certification in industry-standard software and career preparation, and confidence in negotiating ill-structured problem spaces. The most recent project to emerge from GCIEL, a recreation of a Viking longship, is structured as an international collaborative effort between Grinnell College, Carleton College, the Viking Museum Haithabu, which has granted the project investigators full access to their archives and collections of Viking Age artifacts, and the Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County, MN, where a working replica of the Gokstad Viking longship is on display.
My second research track investigates how activity in an XR experience helps learners generate mental narratives that they use to structure, organize, and process situated and procedural knowledge. Earlier work in this area was largely theoretical in nature and focused primarily on how 3D digital game-based learning (DGBL) experiences could be used to teach literature, language, and culture. An essay appearing in The Foreign Language Annals, for example, suggested a design rubric for aligning 3D-DGBL gameplay with performance objectives that was informed by game studies, situated cognition theory, and theories of second language acquisition. Another essay appearing in Simulation & Gaming offered a synthesis of contemporary pedagogical, instructional design, new media, and literary-historical theories to articulate design guidelines for 3D-DGBL experiences. Sensing a need to ground these theoretical considerations in more practical research, I developed an interactive fiction game to explore DGBL approaches to second language and culture teaching; an essay reporting the outcomes of this research appears in Computer Assisted Language Learning. Shortly thereafter, I created my own 3D game with Unity, Blender, and GIMP to teach German grammar and recycling systems within a simulated real-world context. Findings of this research, which appeared as an essay in ReCALL Journal, revealed that although the game did not help students learn the mechanics of German grammar, the written narratives that students produced were clearly informed by students’ in-game experiences and the configuration of the game space. I have since worked with student development teams in GCIEL to create a VR port the of original 3D-DGBL experience and am ready to conduct experiments on whether an increased sense of immersive presence in the simulated environment results in increased learning gains.
Possibilities for future work in the first research track include collaborating with the local public school district and community to create a STEM+C program and lab space focusing on XR development for middle and high school students, creating a design-based learning curriculum for the lab, working with potential employers of lab graduates to identify internship opportunities and articulate desired learning outcomes, and using site-based research for lab projects to increase short-term study abroad opportunities for students. For the second research track I would like to continue developing and researching XR experiences in the lab, with a particular focus on how the situated and procedural knowledge of humanistic and scientific disciplines can best be taught by means of these experiences. This focus includes, among other things, inquiry-based methods of historical research, embodied methods of mathematical thinking, situated linguistic and cultural knowledge, and the performative spaces that shaped medieval cultures. I anticipate work in these areas will culminate in research articles and conference presentations, and will form the foundation for external grant applications that will fund projects emerging from the lab, as well as the lab itself. I would eventually like to synthesize lab research and development findings in a book project.
Publications
| Refereed | Neville, D., Preast, V., Purcell, S., Kelty-Stephen, D., Arner, T., & French, C. (2020). Using virtual reality to expand teaching and research in the liberal arts. Journal of Interactive Technology and Pedagogy, Issue 17. |
| Ramey, L., Neville, D., Amer, H., deHaan, J., Durand, M., Essary, B., Howland, R., Kapadia, M., Kronenberg, F., Shelton, B., & Vance, B. (2019). Revisioning the Middle Ages: Immersive environments for teaching medieval languages and culture. Digital Philology: A Journal of Medieval Cultures, 8(1), 86-104. | |
| Yao, S., Queathem, E., Neville, D., & Kelty-Stephen, D. (2018). Teaching movement science with full-body motion-capture in an undergraduate psychology class. Research in Learning Technology, 26. | |
| Neville, D. (2016) Cultivating early trajectories of participation: A blended learning environment for business German.Unterrichtspraxis / Teaching German, 49(1), 57-68. | |
| Neville, D. (2014). The story in the mind: The effect of 3D gameplay on the structuring of written L2 narratives. ReCALL Journal: The Journal of the European Association for Computer Assisted Language Learning, 27(1), 1-17. | |
| Neville, D. & Shelton, B. (2010). Literary and historical 3D-DGBL: Design guidelines. Simulation & Gaming: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Theory, Practice and Research, 41(4), 607-629. | |
| Neville, D. (2010). Structuring narrative in 3D digital game-based learning environments to support second language acquisition. The Foreign Language Annals, 43(3), 445-468. | |
| Neville, D., Shelton, B., & McInnis, B. (2009). Cybertext redux: Using DGBL to teach L2 vocabulary, reading, and culture. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 22(5), 409-424. | |
| Neville, D. (2008). The bodies of the bride: The language of incarnation, transcendence, and time in the poetic theology of the medieval mystic Mechthild of Magdeburg. Mystics Quarterly: The Academic Journal Of Medieval Western-European Mysticism, 34(1-2), 1-34. | |
| Neville, D. & Britt, D. (2007). A problem-based learning approach integrating foreign language into engineering. The Foreign Language Annals, 40(2), 226-246. | |
| Neville, D. (2000). Divergent interpretations of women’s agency and Luther’s political agenda. In Hilary Collier Sy-Quia & Susanne Baackmann (Eds.), Conquering Women: Women and the German Cultural Imagination (pp. 177-198). Berkeley, CA: International and Area Studies. | |
| Neville, D. (1998). Unfashionable observations. The Modern Schoolman: A Quarterly Journal of Philosophy, 76(1), 61-66. | |
| Neville, D. (1996). Giburc as mediatrix: Illuminated reflections of tolerance in Hz. 1104 (Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nürnberg). Manuscripta: A Journal for Manuscript Research, 40(2), 96-114. | |
| Non-Refereed | Neville, D. (2019). Enhancing the liberal arts with extended reality. University-Industry Innovation Magazine, 2, 28-31. |
| Georgieva, M., Craig, E., Pfaff, D., Neville, D., & Burchett, B. (2017). 7 Things You Should Know About AR/VR/MR. Washington, DC: EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI). | |
| Neville, D. (2011). The future of language education: Facilitating collaboration through technology. The Language Educator, 6(5), 36-38. | |
| Neville, D. (2009). In the classroom: Digital game-based learning in second language acquisition. The Language Educator, 4(6), 47-51. | |
| Neville, D. (2009). Recession-proofing the profession with technology. The Language Educator, 4(2), 52-56. |
Grants
| Funded | The Grinnell College Immersive Experiences Lab (GCIEL), $144,000 USD. Neville, D. (PI) & Kelty-Stephen, D. (Co-PI). Innovation Fund (Pilot Project), Grinnell College, 2017. |
| The Grinnell College Immersive Experiences Lab (GCIEL), $10,000 USD. Neville, D. (PI) & Kelty-Stephen, D. (Co-PI). Innovation Fund (Planning Project), Grinnell College, 2016. | |
| Launching Global Careers: The Business German Speaker Series (Year 2), $5,410 USD. Neville, D. (PI), Tiemann, T. (Co-PI), Burpitt, B. (Co-PI), Brinkley, T. (Co-PI), & Limerick, L. (Co-PI). Fund for Excellence in the Arts and Sciences Grant, Elon University, 2013. | |
| Using 3D Digital Game-Based Learning Environments to Enhance Second Language Acquisition, $15,000 USD. Neville, D. (PI). Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning (CATL) Scholar Fellowship, Elon University, 2012. | |
| Launching Global Careers: The Business German Speaker Series (Year 1), $6,800 USD. Neville, D. (PI), Windham, S. (Co-PI), Tiemann, T. (Co-PI), & Brinkley, T. (Co-PI). Fund for Excellence in the Arts and Sciences Grant, Elon University, 2012. | |
| Wide-Angle Learning: Streaming Media for Second Language and Culture Acquisition, $5,000 USD. Namaste, N. (PI), Neville, D. (Co-PI), & Tillson, V. (Co-PI). Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning (CATL) Grant, Elon University, 2011. | |
| Digital Game-Based Learning for Second Language Acquisition, $5,000 USD. Neville, D. (PI). Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning (CATL) Grant, Elon University, 2010. | |
| Computer Webcams and Headphones for Enhancement of Language Learning, $5,000 USD. Post, A. (PI) & Neville, D. (Co-PI). Fund for Excellence in the Arts and Sciences Grant, Elon University, 2009. | |
| A New Direction for the Language Media Center, $5,000 USD. Neville, D. (PI), Duvall, S. (Co-PI), Hutchings, D. (Co-PI), & Wood, LM (Co-PI). Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning (CATL) Grant, Elon University, 2008. | |
| The Chalice of the Flesh: The Soteriology of the Body in Mechthild of Magdeburg’s Flowing Light of the Godhead, $20,000 USD. Neville, D. (PI). Annual Scholarship (Jahresstipendium), German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), 1999. | |
Total grant monies awarded: $221,210 USD | |
| Proposed | Developing Cultural and Linguistic Competencies Through Virtual Reality, $49,041 USD. Neville, D. (PI), Frances, C. (Co-PI), Kelty-Stephen, D. (Co-PI), Larson, J (Co-PI), Phillips, N. (Co-PI), Preast, V. (Co-PI). Digital Humanities Advancement Grant (Level I), National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), 2018. |
| The DigiBahn Project: 3D Digital Game-Based Learning for Second Language Acquisition, $36,110 USD. Neville, D. (PI), Coleman, T. (Co-PI), Doehler, K. (Co-PI), Motley, P. (Co-PI), Nam, S. (Co-PI), & Wood, LM (Co-PI). Entertainment Software Association Foundation Grant, 2011. | |
| The DigiBahn Project: 3D Digital Game-Based Learning for Second Language Acquisition, $24,219 USD. Neville, D. (PI), Coleman, T. (Co-PI), Doehler, K. (Co-PI), Motley, P. (Co-PI), Nam, S. (Co-PI), Windham, S. (Co-PI), & Wood, LM (Co-PI). Digital Humanities Start-Up Grant (Level I), National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), 2010. |
Presentations
| Scholarly | Neville, D. (2021, July). Teaching the medieval in the digital age: A round table discussion. International Medieval Conference, University of Leeds, Online. |
| Arner, T. & Neville, D. (2021, July). The VR Beowulf project: Visiting Heorot. Paper presented at the International Medieval Conference, University of Leeds, Online. | |
| Neville, D., Arner, T., & Mason, M. (2021, May). The virtual Viking longship project: A study in the future of liberal arts teaching and research. Paper presented at the Day of Digital Humanities 2021, Carleton College, Online. | |
| Neville, D., Arner, T., & Mason, M. (2021, May). The virtual Viking longship project: A study in the future of liberal arts teaching and research. Project presented at the 7th International Conference of the Immersive Learning Research Network, Immersive Project Showcase and Competition, iLRN Virtual Campus, Online (WASD keys to move; hold right/left mouse click to look). | |
| Arner, T., Thomas, J., & Neville, D. (2019, December). The Viking meadhall project. Poster presented at the Teaching with Technology Fair, Grinnell College, Iowa. | |
| Neville, D. (2019, July). Designing and developing VR experiences: A liberal arts approach. Paper presented at the Associated Colleges of the Midwest Summer Workshop on 3D/VR/AR, Grinnell College, Iowa. | |
| Purcell, S. & Neville, D. (2017, December). The Uncle Sam Plantation project. Poster presented at the Digital Liberal Arts Fair, Grinnell College, Iowa. | |
| Neville, D. & Purcell, S. (2017, November). Visualizing difficult historical realities: The Uncle Sam Plantation project. Poster presented at the Humanities, Arts, Science and Technology Alliance and Collaboratory (HASTAC) Conference: The Possible Worlds of Digital Humanities, Orlando, Florida. | |
| Neville, D. (2016, December). Using a self-designed video game to improve writing outcomes. Paper presented at the Immersive Environments Colloquium, Vanderbilt University, Tennessee. | |
| Neville, D. (2016, December). Creating language learning games for the classroom. Paper presented at the Immersive Environments Colloquium, Vanderbilt University, Tennessee. | |
| Neville, D. (2016, June). The Uncle Sam Plantation: A 3D/VR learning environment for teaching lost and difficult histories. Paper presented at the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Advanced Challenges Summer Institute on Theory and Practice in 3D Modeling of Cultural Heritage Sites, University of California – Los Angeles. | |
| Anger, J., Neville, D., & Rennick, R. (2015, January). 3D visualization of historic art exhibition: The First German Autumn Salon, Berlin, 1913. Paper presented at the 9th Annual Campus Academic Strategies and Technology (4CAST) Event (Bridging Art and Science: STEAM Education in a Digital World), University of Iowa. | |
| Neville, D. (2013, August). Flipped instruction. Paper presented at the Teaching and Learning Conference, Elon University, North Carolina. | |
| Neville, D. (2012, October). Digital games and mental narratives: 3D digital game-based language learning (DGBLL) environments for second language acquisition. Paper presented at the 10th Annual International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Conference, Raleigh, North Carolina. | |
| Neville, D. (2012, June). Designs and discourses in digital game-mediated L2 learning. Paper presented at the Computer Assisted Language Instruction Consortium (CALICO) Conference, Notre Dame University, Indiana. | |
| Neville, D. & Windham, S. (2012, March). Cultivating early trajectories of participation: Blended learning environments for teaching business German. Paper presented at the Centers for International Business Education and Research (CIBER) Business Language Conference, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. | |
| Neville, D. (2011, November). Configuring narratives and digital worlds: Video games for second language acquisition. Paper presented at the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages Annual Convention and World Languages Expo, Denver, Colorado. | |
| Neville, D. (2011, November). Report on a 3D-DGBL environment for second language acquisition. Paper presented at the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages Annual Convention and World Languages Expo, Denver, Colorado. | |
| Neville, D. (2011, October). Gaming your class: Using interactive fiction, 2D and 3D games as instructional platforms. Paper presented at the Experience IT Training Workshop, Elon University, North Carolina. | |
| Neville, D. (2011, August). Creating 3D virtual environments for education. Paper presented at the 8th Annual Elon University Teaching and Learning Conference, Elon University, North Carolina. | |
| Neville, D. (2011, April). 3D digital game-based learning for second language acquisition. Poster presented at the Spring Undergraduate Research Forum (SURF), Elon University, North Carolina. | |
| Windham, S. & Neville, D. (2011, February). Students’ use of evidence in language and cultural studies. Poster presented at the Lilly Conference on College and University Teaching, University of North Carolina at Greensboro. | |
| Post, A. & Neville, D. (2010, November). Connecting via webcams: Developing linguistic and cultural competencies in L2. Paper presented at the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages Annual Convention and World Languages Expo, Boston, Massachusetts. | |
| Post, A. & Neville, D. (2010, October). Seeing eye to eye: Using webcams in the classroom. Paper presented at the 7th Annual Teaching and Learning Conference, Elon University, North Carolina. | |
| Neville, D. (2010, October). 3D digital game-based learning for second language acquisition. Paper presented at THATCamp RTP, Franklin Humanities Institute, Duke University. North Carolina. | |
| Neville, D. (2009, November). A digital game-based learning approach to developing situated cultural competency. Paper presented at the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages Annual Convention and World Languages Expo, San Diego, California. | |
| Neville, D. (2009, November). Getting game: Digital game-based learning for second language acquisition. Poster presented at the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages Annual Convention and World Languages Expo, San Diego, California. | |
| Adamson, S. & Neville, D. (2009, February). Language instruction to go: Best practices for efficient, student-centered podcasting in the L2 classroom. Paper presented at the Lilly Conference on College and University Teaching, University of North Carolina at Greensboro. | |
| Shelton, B., Neville, D., McInnis, B. (2008, June). Cybertext redux: Using interactive fiction to teach German vocabulary, reading, and culture. Paper presented at the International Conference for the Learning Sciences, Utrecht University, The Netherlands. | |
| Shelton, B., Scoresby, J., & Neville, D. (2007, June). Refining techniques for tying learning objectives to game-based learning activities. Paper presented at the Teaching with Technology Idea Exchange 2007: The Open Conference on Technology in Education, Utah Valley State University, Utah. | |
| Neville, D. (2001, October). The body as crossroads: Intersecting discourses on self, culture, and authority in Mechthild of Magdeburg’s “Das fließende Licht der Gottheit.” Paper presented at the Twenty-Fifth German Studies Association Conference, Washington, D.C. | |
| Neville, D. (2001, May). Web-based video streaming in the German conversation classroom. Paper presented at the Eighth Annual Spring Forum on Education, Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. | |
| Neville, D. (1998, October). Giburc as mediatrix: Illuminated reflections of tolerance in Nürnberg, Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Graphische Sammlung Hz. 1104-1105. Paper presented at the Twenty-Fifth Saint Louis Conference on Manuscript Studies, St. Louis University, Missouri. | |
| Neville, D. (1997, October). Expanding the printed medieval German Bonaventurian corpus: An edition of “das buoch der betrachtunge” in Codex 396 Palatini Latini. Paper presented at the Twenty-Fourth Saint Louis Conference on Manuscript Studies, St. Louis University, Missouri. | |
| Neville, D. (1997, March). Divergent interpretations of women’s self-determination in “Eyn Geschicht wie Got eyner Erbarn Kloster Jungfrawen ausgeholffen hat” and Luther’s political imperative. Paper presented at The Fifth Annual Interdisciplinary German Studies Conference on Conquering Women: Women, War, and Sexuality, University of California – Berkeley. | |
| Invited | Neville, D. (2021, October). VR for the liberal arts: The Grinnell College Immersive Experiences Lab (GCIEL). Presentation and Panel Discussion, Kenyon College, Gambier, Ohio. |
| Neville, D. (2020, April). The experience curriculum: Immersive realities for teaching and research in the liberal arts. Presentation at the Digital Humanities, Immersive Realities Workshop, Lindenwood University, Online. | |
| Neville, D. (Postponed because of Covid-19). Virtual reality for second language and culture acquisition. Presentation to the Department of Germanic and Slavic Languages, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah. | |
| Neville, D. (Postponed because of Covid-19). The experience curriculum: Virtual reality for the liberal arts. Presentation to the Department of Instructional Psychology and Technology, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah. | |
| Neville, D. & Kelty-Stephen, D. (2018, May). Grinnell College’s Immersive Experiences Laboratory (GCIEL): Using virtual reality to promote interdisciplinary collaboration in the liberal arts. Presentation to participants of the ELI Online Event | eXtended Reality (XR): How AR, VR, and MR are Extending Learning Opportunities. | |
| Neville, D. (2018, April). Virtual reality for the liberal arts and social good. Presentation to the participants of the HackGC Conference, Grinnell College, Iowa. | |
| Neville, D. (2017, April). Ab in die Zukunft! Blended learning and immersive environments for German language and culture instruction. Presentation to the Iowa American Association of Teachers of German (AATG) Spring Meeting, Grinnell College, Iowa. | |
| Neville, D. (2009, February). Digital game-based learning: Immersive approaches to German language and culture. Presentation to the Spring Conference of the North Carolina Chapter of the American Association of Teachers of German, University of North Carolina at Greensboro. | |
| Neville, D. (2006, November). The body of the bride: The language of corporeality and transcendence in the poetic theology of the medieval mystic Mechthild of Magdeburg. Presentation to the Department of Germanic and Slavic Languages, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah. | |
| Neville, D. (2001, February). Embodiment and desire in “The Flowing Light of the Godhead”: Analogical language and the poetic theology of the beguine mystic Mechthild of Magdeburg. Presentation to the Aquinas Institute of Theology, St. Louis University, Missouri. |
(Screenshot by David Neville /Prototype testing of the German Environmentalism VR Game in the Unity editor)
David Neville, PhD, MS 