Beyond Simulation: Establishing First Principles of Fidelity in the Design of Digitalised Abstract Learning Content

As the remote delivery of digital learning content gains prominence, specifically following the Covid-19 pandemic, the design of remotely deliverable learning materials provides for expanded areas of research. An aim of this study is to establish whether first principles of fidelity can be established for designing and developing abstract learning content – namely content that cannot be learned via direct simulation – and where these first principles may be derived from. The initial experiment consists of the creation and deployment of a game that will be used to teach an abstract scientific principle and assess the potential for the design of further such experiments, based on the experiences and results. The initial experiment has recently completed the build phase and is at the beginning of the deployment phase, with results being generated from May 2022-onwards.