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Objectives: This paper aims to explore the factors influencing the spatial cognition of the visually impaired in familiar environments. Background: Massage hospitals are some of the few places that can provide work for the visually impaired in China. Studying the spatial cognition of the visually impaired in a massage hospital could be instructive for the design of working environments for the visually impaired and other workplaces in the future. Methods: First, the subjective spatial cognition of the visually impaired was evaluated by object layout tasks for describing the spatial relationships among object parts. Second, physiological monitoring signal data, including the electrodermal activity, heart rate variability, and electroencephalography, were collected while the visually impaired doctors walked along prescribed routes based on the feature analysis of the physical environment in the hospital, and then their physiological monitoring signal data for each route were compared. The visual factors, physical environmental factors, and human–environment interactive factors that significantly impact the spatial cognition of visually impaired people were discussed. Conclusions: (1) visual acuity affects the spatial cognition of the visually impaired in familiar environments; (2) the spatial cognition of the visually impaired can be promoted by a longer staying time and the more regular sequence of a physical environment; (3) the spatial comfort of the visually impaired can be improved by increasing the amount of greenery; and (4) the visual comfort of the visually impaired can be reduced by rich interior colors and contrasting lattice floor tiles. Full article

Despite being one of the pillars of physics and a well-known subject, the electric force is sometimes not immediately evident to students. Discovery-based learning has proven to be very effective in science education; nevertheless, it can become stressful for students if they don’t have the necessary scaffolding and training to construct knowledge by themselves. In this work, examples of obstacles to students were the absence of the necessary background knowledge, distractions in multimedia environments, and that some students prefer regular instruction in order not to be left alone in the face of active learning dynamics. Therefore, we designed and implemented an assisted active learning sequence that includes moderated intervention from two different lecturers on an Electricity and Magnetism course at a private university in Mexico to compare the normalized learning changes with a standard directed lecture. The primary objective of the active learning sequence was to introduce students to the discovery of the electric force via a simulated experiment using a web-based physics simulation, Newtondreams. By comparing normalized learning changes between four groups, two control, and two experimental groups, we show that students in the experimental groups performed significantly better than the control groups ($⟨c⟩$ = 0.469 and 0.435 for the experimental groups, and $⟨c⟩$ = 0.08 and 0.077 for the control groups). We performed a Wilcoxon Rank-Sum Test to examine the normalized gains between the groups. Observed p-values show that there is significant difference between experimental and control groups: CG1 vs. EG1 (p = 0.00109), CG2 vs. EG2 (p = 0.00079). On the contrary there are no observed significance on the effect of the instructor CG1 vs. CG2 (p = 1), EG1 vs. EG2 (p = 1). Then, that active learning is more effective than regular instruction. Studying the concentration factors we also found that active learning develop better comprehension that regular instruction lecture. At the end of the experiments, we performed student interviews that also showed they felt less stressed and more involved when using the assisted active learning sequence, making the learning experience more amenable when the instructor changes their role from presenter to a guide. Full article