RAISE: Robotics & AI to improve STEM and social skills for elementary school students
RAISE: Robotics & AI to improve STEM and social skills for elementary school students
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DOI：
10.3389/frvir.2022.968312
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发表时间：
2022-10
影响因子：
3
通讯作者：
Charles E. Hughes;L. Dieker;Eileen M. Glavey;R. Hines;Ilene E. Wilkins;Kathleen M. Ingraham;Caitlyn A. Bukaty;Kamran Ali;Sachin Shah;J. Murphy;Matthew S. Taylor
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文献类型：
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作者：
Charles E. Hughes;L. Dieker;Eileen M. Glavey;R. Hines;Ilene E. Wilkins;Kathleen M. Ingraham;Caitlyn A. Bukaty;Kamran Ali;Sachin Shah;J. Murphy;Matthew S. Taylor
作者介绍了一个探索性的虚拟学习环境的设计和实施，帮助自闭症儿童（ASD）学习科学，技术，工程和数学（STEM）技能沿着提高社会情感和沟通技能。这项探索性研究的主要贡献是教育研究如何为需要社交情感和沟通技能发展的儿童触发虚拟AI伴侣（AIC）的技术进步提供信息。AIC适应学生不同程度的所需支持。该项目首先使用AIC的木偶控制（人在回路中），帮助ASD学生学习基本编码，使用AIC练习社交技能，并获得有效沟通和学习的情感识别和调节技能。学生们面临的挑战是对机器人Dash™进行编程，使其在正方形中移动。根据观察到的行为，木偶控制虚拟代理的行动，以支持学生在编码的机器人。告知AIC发展的虚拟代理的动作包括语音、面部表情、手势、呼吸和心脏颜色变化，这些变化被编码以指示情绪状态。本文提供了这项为期5年的扩大研究的前2年的探索性结果。讨论的结果与用于残疾学生的研究设计的共同方法相一致，称为单一案例研究。这种类型的设计不涉及随机对照试验研究;相反，学生作为她或他自己的控制对象。ASD学生在社交技能缺陷，行为，沟通和学习需求方面存在很大的个体差异，这些差异与正常人和其他患有这种残疾的人有很大差异。因此，结果报告为受试者内而非受试者间的变化。虽然这些探索性的观察结果可以作为对更大人群进行长期研究的基础，但本文较少关注学生的学习，而更多地关注AIC中不断发展的技术，并在STEM环境中支持ASD学生。
The authors present the design and implementation of an exploratory virtual learning environment that assists children with autism (ASD) in learning science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) skills along with improving social-emotional and communication skills. The primary contribution of this exploratory research is how educational research informs technological advances in triggering a virtual AI companion (AIC) for children in need of social-emotional and communication skills development. The AIC adapts to students’ varying levels of needed support. This project began by using puppetry control (human-in-the-loop) of the AIC, assisting students with ASD in learning basic coding, practicing their social skills with the AIC, and attaining emotional recognition and regulation skills for effective communication and learning. The student is given the challenge to program a robot, Dash™, to move in a square. Based on observed behaviors, the puppeteer controls the virtual agent’s actions to support the student in coding the robot. The virtual agent’s actions that inform the development of the AIC include speech, facial expressions, gestures, respiration, and heart color changes coded to indicate emotional state. The paper provides exploratory findings of the first 2 years of this 5-year scaling-up research study. The outcomes discussed align with a common approach of research design used for students with disabilities, called single case study research. This type of design does not involve random control trial research; instead, the student acts as her or his own control subject. Students with ASD have substantial individual differences in their social skill deficits, behaviors, communications, and learning needs, which vary greatly from the norm and from other individuals identified with this disability. Therefore, findings are reported as changes within subjects instead of across subjects. While these exploratory observations serve as a basis for longer term research on a larger population, this paper focuses less on student learning and more on evolving technology in AIC and supporting students with ASD in STEM environments.