TY - GEN
T1 - The effect of motivational learning companions on low achieving students and students with disabilities
AU - Woolf, Beverly P.
AU - Arroyo, Ivon
AU - Muldner, Kasia
AU - Burleson, Winslow
AU - Cooper, David G.
AU - Dolan, Robert
AU - Christopherson, Robert M.
PY - 2010
Y1 - 2010
N2 - We report the results of a randomized controlled evaluation of the effectiveness of pedagogical agents as providers of affective feedback. These digital learning companions were embedded in an intelligent tutoring system for mathematics, and were used by approximately one hundred students in two public high schools. Students in the control group did not receive the learning companions. Results indicate that low-achieving students-one third of whom have learning disabilities-had higher affective needs than their higherachieving peers; they initially considered math problem-solving more frustrating, less exciting, and felt more anxious when solving math problems. However, after they interacted with affective pedagogical agents, low-achieving students improved their affective outcomes, e.g., reported reduced frustration and anxiety.
AB - We report the results of a randomized controlled evaluation of the effectiveness of pedagogical agents as providers of affective feedback. These digital learning companions were embedded in an intelligent tutoring system for mathematics, and were used by approximately one hundred students in two public high schools. Students in the control group did not receive the learning companions. Results indicate that low-achieving students-one third of whom have learning disabilities-had higher affective needs than their higherachieving peers; they initially considered math problem-solving more frustrating, less exciting, and felt more anxious when solving math problems. However, after they interacted with affective pedagogical agents, low-achieving students improved their affective outcomes, e.g., reported reduced frustration and anxiety.
KW - Affective feedback
KW - Pedagogical agents
KW - Special needs populations
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=79957530412&partnerID=8YFLogxK
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U2 - 10.1007/978-3-642-13388-6_37
DO - 10.1007/978-3-642-13388-6_37
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:79957530412
SN - 3642133878
SN - 9783642133879
T3 - Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics)
SP - 327
EP - 337
BT - Intelligent Tutoring Systems - 10th International Conference, ITS 2010, Proceedings
T2 - 10th International Conference on Intelligent Tutoring Systems, ITS 2010
Y2 - 14 June 2010 through 18 June 2010
ER -