Abstract
Learning is more challenging for students with learning disabilities. They often require supplementary learning support such as one-to-one instruction to address academic skill gaps. In this research, we explore the impact of using assistive technology- a social robot, as an educational tool for instructors to support students with learning disabilities. The purpose of the study was to a) to evaluate the acceptance of the social robot by the users, i.e., instructors and students in a real-world educational setting; b) understand the impact of the robot’s intervention on student’s engagement during learning tasks over multiple learning sessions. We conducted a multi-session between-subjects study with 16 students within two conditions, control and intervention condition with the QT robot. Our qualitative analysis suggests that instructors and students showed positive attitudes towards the social robot in their one-to-one sessions. In addition, the students were more engaged with their task in the presence of the robot, and displayed fewer off-task behaviours in the intervention condition, compared to the control condition. These results suggest that a social robot can be used as an effective educational tool for instructors in boosting engagement and mitigating off-task behaviours for students with learning disabilities.
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Notes
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The existing program develops students’ independence, confidence, and academic achievements through one-to-one instructions with certified instructors.
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The Community Research Ethics Office is located in Ontario, Canada, whose mandate is to strengthen and support community based research in Canada and internationally, http://www.communityresearchethics.com.
- 3.
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Azizi, N., Chandra, S., Gray, M., Fane, J., Sager, M., Dautenhahn, K. (2022). User Evaluation of Social Robots as a Tool in One-to-One Instructional Settings for Students with Learning Disabilities. In: Cavallo, F., et al. Social Robotics. ICSR 2022. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 13818. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-24670-8_14
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