EAGER: A Teachable Robot for Mathematics Learning in Middle School Classrooms

在机器人活动中，学生们理论上可以从“边做边学”的活动中受益，他们可以设定自己的目标，但在实践中，这些活动并没有对STEM成果产生预期的影响。为了提高机器人的学习能力，该项目将利用可教代理技术，即学生通过教授计算机代理来学习一个领域。代理人与学生互动，揭露错误观念，鼓励他们在失败面前坚持下去。通过将可教代理的结构与机器人学习的探索性和参与性特征相结合，该项目将增强两种方法的优势。研究人员将实现一个机器人，学生可以教他们在中学数学课上学习的概念。他们将与老师和学生一起进行设计练习，以确定机器人的特征，这些特征可能对提高学生的积极性和学习能力特别重要。最后，他们将进行两项研究，一项在实验室，另一项在教室，以探索学生在现实环境中对机器人的反应。智力价值：该项目将提高学生对可教数学机器人的反应特征的理解，以及这种机器人可能具有的潜在教育效益。该项目将通过发明集成可教代理和机器人学习环境的方法来做出技术贡献。更广泛的影响：该项目将影响来自代表性不足群体的中学生，他们将帮助设计和测试可教机器人，让他们接触新技术，并参与STEM职业的各个方面。该项目还将使人们更好地了解可教机器人在课堂上的影响，并为这些技术在教育中得到更广泛的应用铺平道路。

In robotics activities, students are theorized to benefit from "learning-by-doing" activities where they set their own goals, but in practice, these activities have failed to produce the expected effects on STEM outcomes. To improve learning from robotics, this project will leverage teachable agent technologies, where students learn about a domain by teaching a computer agent. The agent interacts with students to expose misconceptions and encourage them to persist in the face of failure. By integrating the structure of teachable agents with the exploratory and engaging features of learning from robotics, the project will enhance the benefits of both approaches. The investigators will implement a robot that students can teach about the concepts they are learning in their middle school mathematics class. They will engage in design exercises with teachers and students to identify features of the robot that might be particularly important for improving student motivation and learning. Finally, they will conduct two studies, one in the laboratory and one in the classroom, to explore how students react to the robot in a realistic setting. Intellectual merit: The project will improve understanding of what features students respond to in a teachable robot for mathematics, and of the potential educational benefits such a robot might have. The project will make a technological contribution by inventing methods for integrating teachable agents and robotic learning environments.Broader impacts: The project will impact middle school students from underrepresented groups who will help design and test the teachable robot, exposing them to new technologies and engaging aspects of STEM careers. The project will also lead to a better understanding of the impact of teachable robots in the classroom and pave the way for these technologies to be adopted more widely in education.