Combine real people and artificial agents as complements in blended learning environments¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · 4 claims (4 for) · 2 studies (1 review, 1 theoretical), q1–q2 · 0 of 2 report an effect size · 4 claims rest on one study

Description¶

The authors state that pedagogical agents complement the roles of humans in the learning process and should not be viewed as taking the place of them. They identify as an important research challenge understanding how best to combine the strengths of real people and artificial agents in blended learning environments, and anticipate that as authoring tools become more prevalent, teachers and students will play a significant role in designing, creating, and participating in those blended learning solutions.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Agents that are not just technically sophisticated but also easy to author and use

Constraints¶

Target Learners¶

• learners in blended learning environments

Target Learning Goals¶

• effective combination of human instruction and agent support

Claims¶

• Pedagogical agents as coaches and tutors are most useful with novice learners, while virtual role-players benefit learners across expertise levels [+W]
• Animated personas produce better learning than static ones, and agent voice contributes significantly to learning [+W]
• Pedagogical agents enhance learning compared with learning environments that do not feature agents [+W]
• Learners in immersive media environments tend to treat pedagogical agents as real people, relying primarily on biologically primary communication patterns [+W]

Related Strategies¶

• Provide authoring tools that make pedagogical agents easy to create for wide adoption
• Use fidelity-aware simulated patients as a low-risk complement to supervision for deliberate psychotherapy practice
• Implement AI simulations as complements within a stepped simulation continuum, with layered interaction modes and blended feedback

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• W. Lewis Johnson & James C. Lester. (2015). Face-to-Face Interaction with Pedagogical Agents, Twenty Years Later. Int J Artif Intell Educ. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40593-015-0065-9