Pedagogical Agents: Pedagogical Interventions via Integration of Task-Oriented and Socially-Oriented Conversation

• a math game, focus on training basic concepts with spatial representation
• student can play individually, learn how it works
• train a teachable agent
  • job is to teach agent how to play game
  • learns by watching students
  • also poses questions (MC) - asks student to explain how the game works, rules etc
  • when agent has watched a few times, it can play autonomously
    • student is still helping agent (agree with choice or not)

System architecture

• math game
  • teachable agent
  • on-task conversation
• visual representation
• social (off-task) conversations (chat with agent, abt music, family)
  • off-domain conversation
  • on-domain conversation

Possible reasons for adding socially oriented communication

• increase overall engagement and receptivity
• improve recall of learning material through emotional engagement
• social experience helps cement newly learned associations
• promote trust and rapport building
• make students feel more at ease with learning task or topic

Research questions

• can adding social conversation
  • enhance student's experience of game
  • influence students' self-efficacy and math attitudes
• will social conversation module influence
  • game experience
  • learning outcomes

Some researchers would question adding off-task conversations - takes away focus from task

Result

• high achievers have more positive experience and better learning outcomes
• this did not apply to low achievers
• low achievers chat more, but high achievers like it more
• possible explanation
  • in situation of disengaged chat
    • low achievers keep chatting, high achievers do something about it
• can engage learners in voluntary on-domain chat (1/3 initiated chat conversations about the math game)

Next step

• Closer integration between task-oriented vs socially-oriented communications (related to the last result)