"By the way, do you like Spider Man?" -Towards A Social Planning Model for Rapport

International audienceInteraction takes place not only on the propositional level but also on the social level. In this paper, we consider rapport as an important social phenomenon in interaction. Motivated by data from the tutoring domain, we hypothesize that (i) off-task episodes are triggered by a low level of rapport and (ii) such episodes are means of raising the level of rapport. We sketch a planning model that allows off-task episodes to be triggered by (low) rapport level, which we apply to two simple examples

Emotional and cognitive effects of peer tutoring among secondary school mathematics students

This paper describes an experience of same-age peer tutoring conducted with 19 eighth-grade mathematics students in a secondary school in Castellon de la Plana (Spain). Three constructs were analysed before and after launching the program: academic performance, mathematics self-concept and attitude of solidarity. Students’ perceptions of the method were also analysed. The quantitative data was gathered by means of a mathematics self-concept questionnaire, an attitude of solidarity questionnaire and the students' numerical ratings. A statistical analysis was performed using Student's t-test. The qualitative information was gathered by means of discussion groups and a field diary. This information was analysed using descriptive analysis and by categorizing the information. Results show statistically significant improvements in all the variables and the positive assessment of the experience and the interactions that took place between the students

Power to the Teachers:An Exploratory Review on Artificial Intelligence in Education

This exploratory review attempted to gather evidence from the literature by shedding light on the emerging phenomenon of conceptualising the impact of artificial intelligence in education. The review utilised the PRISMA framework to review the analysis and synthesis process encompassing the search, screening, coding, and data analysis strategy of 141 items included in the corpus. Key findings extracted from the review incorporate a taxonomy of artificial intelligence applications with associated teaching and learning practice and a framework for helping teachers to develop and self-reflect on the skills and capabilities envisioned for employing artificial intelligence in education. Implications for ethical use and a set of propositions for enacting teaching and learning using artificial intelligence are demarcated. The findings of this review contribute to developing a better understanding of how artificial intelligence may enhance teachers’ roles as catalysts in designing, visualising, and orchestrating AI-enabled teaching and learning, and this will, in turn, help to proliferate AI-systems that render computational representations based on meaningful data-driven inferences of the pedagogy, domain, and learner models

Mediated activity and the role of technology in peer-to-peer learning at the University of Fort Hare

Includes bibliographical references.The following calls for research into the ways in which South African university students use technology for peer-to-peer learning (Czerniewicz and Brown, 2005). This study aims to explore the ways in which students mediate one another's learning and the ways in which they use (and don't use) information and communications technology (ICT) to do so. This study provides a snapshot of eleven University of Fort Hare students' peer-to-peer learning strategies. In exploring this phenomenon in context, the social and cultural factors are analysed using Activity Theory, most notably building on the work of Sharples et al (2007). Semi-structured interviews were conducted with students identified as early adopters of ICT for peer-to-peer learning, selected from 375 respondents to the Access and Use Survey questionnaire (Czerniewicz and Brown, 2007). An analytical framework was developed using categories developed from high-level Activity Theory concepts. Sub-categories were developed using key concepts from Sharples, Taylor and Vavoula (2007), Laurillard's (2003) work, as well as, inductively and deductively in relation to the data, following Hardman's (2008) approach. Three key peer-to-peer learning patterns were identified: A group of students preparing for an exam or a test were found to adopt cooperative learning strategies, while students working together towards a tangible output, such as an assignment, adopted collaborative learning strategies. Peer-to-peer tutoring was found to occur where one student is assisted by a moreable peer. Most interviewees' peer-to-peer learning activities were found to occur face-to-face, and the extent and level of interviewees' ICT use was less than anticipated. The findings are not generalisable beyond this small sample, but serve to advance understanding of the processes involved in students' peer-to-peer learning practices

Affective Expressions in Conversational Agents for Learning Environments: Effects of curiosity, humour, and expressive auditory gestures

Conversational agents -- systems that imitate natural language discourse -- are becoming an increasingly prevalent human-computer interface, being employed in various domains including healthcare, customer service, and education. In education, conversational agents, also known as pedagogical agents, can be used to encourage interaction; which is considered crucial for the learning process. Though pedagogical agents have been designed for learners of diverse age groups and subject matter, they retain the overarching goal of eliciting learning outcomes, which can be broken down into cognitive, skill-based, and affective outcomes. Motivation is a particularly important affective outcome, as it can influence what, when, and how we learn. Understanding, supporting, and designing for motivation is therefore of great importance for the advancement of learning technologies. This thesis investigates how pedagogical agents can promote motivation in learners. Prior research has explored various features of the design of pedagogical agents and what effects they have on learning outcomes, and suggests that agents using social cues can adapt the learning environment to enhance both affective and cognitive outcomes. One social cue that is suggested to be of importance for enhancing learner motivation is the expression or simulation of affect in the agent. Informed by research and theory across multiple domains, three affective expressions are investigated: curiosity, humour, and expressive auditory gestures -- each aimed at enhancing motivation by adapting the learning environment in different ways, i.e., eliciting contagion effects, creating a positive learning experience, and strengthening the learner-agent relationship, respectively. Three studies are presented in which each expression was implemented in a separate type of agent: physically-embodied, text-based, and voice-based; with all agents taking on the role of a companion or less knowledgeable peer to the learner. The overall focus is on how each expression can be displayed, what the effects are on perception of the agent, and how it influences behaviour and learning outcomes. The studies result in theoretical contributions that add to our understanding of conversational agent design for learning environments. The findings provide support for: the simulation of curiosity, the use of certain humour styles, and the addition of expressive auditory gestures, in enhancing motivation in learners interacting with conversational agents; as well as indicating a need for further exploration of these strategies in future work

Understanding The Experiences Of A Group Of Yemeni Students In An Esl Science Class

American classrooms are experiencing an influx of diverse language speaking students while for science educators the study of EBL students’ learning in science classrooms is a relatively new field (Lee & Buxton, 2010). At the same time there is a growing emphasis on the importance of science practices (NGSS). This poses significant challenges for science educators who are enacting science curriculum that supports all students’ learning. Supporting EBL students’ academic achievement is significant because literacy is important for students’ access to economic and social benefits that come with science literacy (Atwater, 1996). The purpose of this study was to examine the socio-linguistic challenges that a specific group of EBL students (Yemeni) faced and the extent to which such challenges affected their academic performance in science. These challenges are related to linguistic and cultural interactions, which can lead to conflicts between student and school, thereby interfering with the effectiveness of their education. This study also examined these students’ and their science teacher’s perspectives on strategies that can be used to facilitate their language acquisition during science class and help them become active participants in the school and classroom communities. The study used a qualitative interpretive research methodology and involved four Arab-American EBL students (two males and two females) from Yemen, who had been in the US for different periods of time. The amount of time these students had been in the US was important to examine differences in their acculturation and challenges they faced. Similarly, the use of female and male student participants was important to understand the impact of gender in the lived experiences of these students. The results of the study indicated that all the participants struggled with linguistic, social, and cultural aspects of their life in an American high school. These in turn led to a sense of being different, which resulted in isolation from their non EBL peers. The female participants experienced additional struggles due to their unique dress code that set them apart from the other female students (including those from less strict Arabic cultures), and strict cultural and religious norms that forbade them from interacting with males or with females from cultures other than their own. All these issues influenced each other in different ways, resulting in limited opportunities to interact with others and develop language and cultural competency skills. The results also revealed that even though the school had a large percentage of EBL students from Middle Eastern countries, and the teacher was aware of his EBL students’ struggles and used effective science teaching methods, neither the school nor the teacher had put in place approaches that helped decrease cultural stereotypes among the various student groups and facilitate integration of their EBL students into the school community. As a result, it was difficult for the student participants to academically succeed when language and social and cultural barriers prevented them from feeling like they belonged. This lack of belonging caused the participants to develop a negative attitude towards the American culture, which helped shape their perception of their cultural identity as Arabs

Human Computer Interaction and Emerging Technologies

The INTERACT Conferences are an important platform for researchers and practitioners in the field of human-computer interaction (HCI) to showcase their work. They are organised biennially by the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) Technical Committee on Human–Computer Interaction (IFIP TC13), an international committee of 30 member national societies and nine Working Groups. INTERACT is truly international in its spirit and has attracted researchers from several countries and cultures. With an emphasis on inclusiveness, it works to lower the barriers that prevent people in developing countries from participating in conferences. As a multidisciplinary field, HCI requires interaction and discussion among diverse people with different interests and backgrounds. The 17th IFIP TC13 International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (INTERACT 2019) took place during 2-6 September 2019 in Paphos, Cyprus. The conference was held at the Coral Beach Hotel Resort, and was co-sponsored by the Cyprus University of Technology and Tallinn University, in cooperation with ACM and ACM SIGCHI. This volume contains the Adjunct Proceedings to the 17th INTERACT Conference, comprising a series of selected papers from workshops, the Student Design Consortium and the Doctoral Consortium. The volume follows the INTERACT conference tradition of submitting adjunct papers after the main publication deadline, to be published by a University Press with a connection to the conference itself. In this case, both the Adjunct Proceedings Chair of the conference, Dr Usashi Chatterjee, and the lead Editor of this volume, Dr Fernando Loizides, work at Cardiff University which is the home of Cardiff University Press