An Experiment and application of a Pedagogical Conversational Agent that facilitates collaborative learning activity

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25870910
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Cognitive science; Learning support system
• Research Institution: Ritsumeikan University (2014-2015); University of Tsukuba (2013)
• Principal Investigator: Hayashi Yugo 立命館大学, 文学部, 准教授 (60437085)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: エージェント / 協同学習 / インタラクション / インタフェース

Outline of Final Research Achievements

For this study, we developed a web-based pedagogical conversational agent, which we subsequently evaluated. During the study, learners logged into the system though the Web, and then talked to the agent. The study focused on a situation in which university students provided explanations to an agent about different concepts related to their specialized fields. We conducted a large-scale study and analyzed the learners’ verbal data to understand how they gained knowledge while using the system. During the analysis phase, we used a lexical network analysis method to capture the process of learner knowledge development. The results showed that learners were able to gain knowledge using the system. The results also helped us understand how a system using explanation activities can be used to facilitate learning over time.

Free Research Field

認知科学