Lena Pareto

A teachable-agent arithmetic game's effects on mathematics understanding, attitude and self-efficacy

A teachable-agent arithmetic game is presented and evaluated in terms of student performance, attitude and self-efficacy. An experimental prepost study design was used, enrolling 153 3rd and 5th grade students in Sweden. The playing group showed significantly larger gains in math performance and self-efficacy beliefs, but not in general attitude towards math, compared to control groups. The contributions in relation to previous work include a novel educational game being evaluated, and an emphasis on self-efficacy in the study as a strong predictor of math achievements.

Learning by Guiding a Teachable Agent to Play an Educational Game

Teachable agents are used to support transfer of game playing knowledge to domain knowledge for an educational, arithmetic game. A pre-posttest experiment study show promising learning effects for low ability students.

A Teachable Agent Game Engaging Primary School Children to Learn Arithmetic Concepts and Reasoning.

In this paper we will describe a learning environment designed to foster conceptual understanding and reasoning in mathematics among younger school children. The learning environment consists of 48 2-player game variants based on a graphical model of arithmetic where the mathematical content is intrinsically interwoven with the game idea. The environment also features teachable agents, which are computer programs that can be taught and behave according to their knowledge. Thus, the environment provides both learning-by-doing (playing the game) and learning-by-teaching (teaching the agent to play). It differs from other learning-by-teaching systems 1) by targeting basic mathematics and primary grade students; 2) by using teachable agents as an extension to educational games in order to leverage engagement, reflection and learning; and 3) by using an agent-driven question dialogue to challenge students’ mathematical thinking, to role-model learner behaviour and to transfer game knowledge to out-of-game mathematics. The teachable agent game is described and evaluated in an authentic classroom study enrolling 443 students from 22 classes in 9 schools. Students range from 2nd to 6th grade of mainstream classes and 7th to 8th grade for students with difficulties in mathematics. Part of the study was designed as a quasi-experimental study with controls; part was designed to examine students’ change in mental models of arithmetic before and after game play. All students took pre- and post mathematics tests. The 314 playing students used the game and taught their agents during regular math-classes for three months, whereas the control classes attended standard instruction and took the tests. A questionnaire was distributed at the end of the study to investigate students’ perceptions and performances of the agent-tutoring task. Results show that 1) there is a significant learning gain for playing students compared to controls, 2) the learning environment can engage children in advanced mathematical thinking in early education, 3) young primary students can act as successful tutors. Thus, we conclude that teachable agents in educational games can help achieve deeper levels of learning that transfer outside the game. This idea combines the motivational power of games with the reflective power of a teachable agent asking though-provoking, deep questions on the learning material during game play.

Challenges in designing virtual environments training social skills for children with autism

The purpose of the study is to explore particular challenges faced when designing virtual environments for children with autism, with the purpose of training social skills. Our findings are based on studying autistic behaviour during three years (primary and secondary sources), analysis of related system and other computer mediated assistive technology, as well as general game design. From these studies we have identified eight critical design parameters that need to be adjustable in a system suitable for autistic persons. The parameters importance, their variation range, as well as the need for independent adjustment of these were estimated and verified by experienced expert pedagogues.

Transferring teaching to testing: an unexplored aspect of teachable agents

The present study examined whether socio-motivational effects from working with a Teachable Agent (TA) might transfer from the formative learning phase to a summative test situation. Forty-nine students (9-10 years old) performed a digital pretest of math skills, then played a TA-based educational math game in school over a period of eight weeks. Thereafter, the students were divided into two groups, matched according to their pretest scores, and randomly assigned one of two posttest conditions: either with the TA present, or without the TA. Results showed that low-performers on the pretest improved significantly more on the posttest than did high-performers, but only when tested with the TA. We reason that low-performers might be more susceptible to a supportive social context - as provided by their TA - for performing well in a test situation.

The complexity of integrating technology enhanced learning in special math education - a case study

We present a study of integrating an educational game in special math education, to explore challenges faced during the process. The game promotes an unconventional approach supporting students having math difficulties, through visual representations, learn-by-exploration and learn-by-teaching models. Our conclusion is that integration in special education is more challenging than in the main stream counterpart, due to social vulnerability of the students, learning/teaching challenges in content, motivation and attitude, a non-typical learning situation, and the challenge of matching learning peers.

Telehealth with 3D games for stroke rehabilitation

Abstract This study explores the feasibility of a novel telehealth system for stroke rehabilitation in a rural area in Sweden. It addresses two major problems of home-based rehabilitation: training motivation and frequent meetings. Three stroke subjects were equipped with 3D computer games workbenches, and were instructed to play with the hemiplegic upper extremity. On-line coaching meetings were performed using bidirectional audiovisual communication. The intervention led to clinical changes for all subjects. On-line coaching is promising, but not yet as effective as desired. However, a distance based approach using 3D games for upper extremity rehabilitation after stroke is feasible.

Understanding users with reading disabilities or reduced vision : Toward a universal design of an auditory, location-aware museum guide

We present ongoing work on the design of an information system for users with reading disabilities and users with reduced vision. The design target is a portable, auditory, location-aware informati ...

Practice based design for learning at work.

Designing for learning at work in a manner that embraces the rich situatedness of practice involves a number of challenges in bridging normative and descriptive perspectives, as well as closing the ...

Graphical arithmetic for learners with dyscalculia

We propose a model for arithmetic, based on graphical represent-ations, to complement the symbolic language of mathematics. The focus is conceptual understanding of arithmetic. We argue that the graphical model supports understanding concepts known to be difficult for learners with dyscalculia, such as number-sense and decimal system. The proposed graphical representation share properties of the decimal system, but is closer to the semantic representation of numbers vital to the number-sense. The model is evaluated with school-children, but needs to be further tested by learners with dyscalculia.