Abstract
This study investigates the design of effective interaction using pedagogical conversational agents (PCAs) as companions in collaborative learning activities. Specifically, we focus on the use of embodied PCAs that evoke social awareness and engagement from human learners. In controlled experiments, paired collaborative learners were selectively accompanied by “peer-advisor” PCAs in a set of learning activities. Results show that learners who engaged with multiple PCAs gained a better understanding of target concepts than those using a single PCA. Furthermore, learners who engaged PCAs playing different collaborative roles (e.g., “mentor” and “expert”) outperformed those who engaged PCAs without distinct roles. The implications of these results are explored and directions for future study are discussed.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Vygotsky, L.S.: Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes. Harvard University (1978)
Lave, J., Wenger, E.: Situated Learning - Legitimate Peripheral Participation. Cambridge University Press (1991)
Kumar, R., Rose, C.: Architecture for building conversational agents that support collaborative learning. IEEE Transactions on Learning Technologies 4(1), 21–34 (2011)
Graesser, A., McNamara, D.: Self-regulated learning in learning environments with pedagogical agents that interact in natural language. Educational Psychologist 45(4), 234–244 (2010)
Baylor, A.L., Kim, Y.: Simulating instructional roles through pedagogical agents. International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education 15(1), 95–115 (2005)
Baylor, A.L., Ryu, J.: The API (Agent Persona Instrument) for Assessing Pedagogical Agent Persona. In: Lassner, D., McNaught, C. (eds.) Proc. World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia and Telecommunications, pp. 448–451 (2003)
Gulz, A., Haake, M.: Design of animated pedagogical agents: A look at their look. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies 63(4), 322–339 (2006)
Kim, Y., Baylor, A.L., Shen, E.: Pedagogical agents as learning companions: The impact of agent emotion and gender. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning 23(3), 220–234 (2007)
Heidig, S., Clarebout, G.: Do pedagogical agents make a difference to student motivation and learning? Educational Research Review 6(1), 27–54 (2011)
Chi, M., Leeuw, N., Chiu, M., Lavancher, C.: Eliciting self-explanations improves understanding. Cognitive Science 18(3), 439–477 (1994)
Okada, T., Simon, H.: Collaborative discovery in a scientific domain. Cognitive Science 21(2), 109–146 (1997)
Shirouzu, H., Miyake, N., Masukawa, H.: Cognitively active externalization for situated reflection. Cognitive Science 26(4), 469–501 (2002)
Holmes, J.: Designing agents to support learning by explaining. Computers and Education 48(4), 523–547 (2007)
Moreno, R., Mayer, E.: Role of guidance, reaction, and interactivity in an agent-based multi-media game. Journal of Educational Psychology 97(1), 117–128 (2005)
Hayashi, Y.: Learner-support agents for collaborative interaction: A study on affect and communication channels. In: Proc. 10th International Conference on Computer Supported Collaborative Learning, pp. 232–239 (2013)
Salomon, G.: Distributed Cognition: Psychological and Educational Considerations. Cambridge University Press, New York (2001)
Miyake, N.: Constructive interaction and the interactive process of understanding. Cognitive Science 10, 151–177 (1986)
Hayashi, Y., Miwa, K., Morita, J.: A laboratory study on distributed problem solving by taking different perspectives. In: Proc. 28th Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society, pp. 333–338. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates (2006)
Hayashi, Y.: On pedagogical effects of learner support agents in collaborative interaction. In: Cerri, S.A., Clancey, W.J., Papadourakis, G., Panourgia, K. (eds.) ITS 2012. LNCS, vol. 7315, pp. 22–32. Springer, Heidelberg (2012)
Hayashi, Y.: Pedagogical conversational agents for supporting collaborative learning: Effects of communication channels. In: Proc. CHI EA 2013, pp. 655–660. ACM Press (2013)
Levine, D., Resnick, L.B., Higgins, E.T.: Social foundations of cognition. Annual Review of Psychology 44, 585–612 (1993)
Alport, F.H.: The influence of the group upon association and thought. Journal of Experimental Psychology 3, 159–182 (1920)
Lee, E.J., Nass, C.: Experimental tests of normative group influence and representation effects in computer-mediated communication when interacting via computers differs from interacting with computers. Human Communication Research 28(3), 349–381 (2002)
Beck, B.U., Wintermantel, M., Borg, A.: Principles of regulating interaction in teams practicing face-to-face communication versus teams practicing computer-mediated communication. Small Group Research 36, 499–536 (2005)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2014 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this paper
Cite this paper
Hayashi, Y. (2014). Togetherness: Multiple Pedagogical Conversational Agents as Companions in Collaborative Learning. In: Trausan-Matu, S., Boyer, K.E., Crosby, M., Panourgia, K. (eds) Intelligent Tutoring Systems. ITS 2014. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 8474. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-07221-0_14
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-07221-0_14
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-07220-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-07221-0
eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)