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A Social-Cognitive Framework For Designing Pedagogical Agents As Learning Companions, Yanghee Kim, Amy L. Baylor
A Social-Cognitive Framework For Designing Pedagogical Agents As Learning Companions, Yanghee Kim, Amy L. Baylor
Yanghee Kim
Teaching and learning are highly social activities. Seminal psychologists such as Vygotsky, Piaget, and Bandura have theorized that social interaction is a key mechanism in the process of learning and development. In particular, the benefits of peer interaction for learning and motivation in classrooms have been broadly demonstrated through empirical studies. Hence, it would be valuable if computer-based environments could support a mechanism for a peer-interaction. Though no claim of peer equivalence is made, pedagogical agents as learning companions (PALs) -- animated digital characters functioning to simulate human-peer-like interaction -- might provide an opportunity to simulate such social interaction in …
Pedagogical Agents As Learning Companions: The Role Of Agent Competency And Type Of Interaction, Yanghee Kim, Amy L. Baylor, Pals Group
Pedagogical Agents As Learning Companions: The Role Of Agent Competency And Type Of Interaction, Yanghee Kim, Amy L. Baylor, Pals Group
Yanghee Kim
This study was designed to examine the effects of the competency (low vs. high) and interaction type (proactive vs. responsive) of pedagogical agents as learning companions (PALs) on learning, self-efficacy, and attitudes. Participants were 72 undergraduates in an introductory computer-literacy course who were randomly assigned to one of four treatments: Low-Proactive, Low-Responsive, High-Proactive, and High-Responsive. Results indicated a main effect for PAL competency. Students who worked with the high-competency PAL in both proactive and responsive conditions achieved higher scores in applying what they had learned and showed more positive attitudes toward the PAL. However, students who worked with the low-competency …