Research Article
Donggil Song
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 8, Issue 2, pp. 176-190
ABSTRACT
Learning-by-teaching has been identified as one of the more effective approaches to learning. Recently, educational researchers have investigated virtual environments in order to utilize the learning-by-teaching pedagogy. In a face-to-face learning-by-teaching situation, the role of the learners is to teach their peers or instructors. In virtual environments, learners take an active role by teaching a computer agent, which is referred to as Teachable Agent (TA). Although the current TA systems have shown their effectiveness on students’ learning, there are some challenges associated with learner-computer interaction methods. One of the most popular interaction methods between the learner and the system is a concept map approach. The learner teaches TA by creating information structures by drawing and editing their concept map. However, the learner can teach TA rather constrained topics, such as concept-related materials or causal effects. It is difficult for TA systems to be utilized in different types of learning along with concept-related areas. Therefore, new approaches or methods for communication between a human learner and TA systems are required. This project aims to suggest a virtual learning-by-teaching environment. A communication method (i.e., a symbol manipulation approach) was adopted in this system. The method facilitates the interaction between the learner and the computer agent, specifically for K-12 students’ mathematics learning. The design and development process is described, and future research areas are discussed.
Keywords: learning by teaching, teachable agent, pedagogical agent, intelligent system
Research Article
Saidatul Maizura Sahimi, Farah M. Zain, Nabila A. N. Kamar, Noorizdayantie Samar, Zuraidah A. Rahman, Omar Majid, Hanafi Atan, Fong Soon Fook, Wong Su Luan
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 1, Issue 2, pp. 175-185
ABSTRACT
This paper describes the impact of the degrees of realism (unrealistic, moderately realistic and highly realistic) of the pedagogical agent on student’s achievement during online learning in terms of gender. Three modes of the e-learning portal with appropriate degrees of realism, namely, Online Learning with a Cartoon Pedagogical Agent (OLCPA), Online Learning with a Moderately Realistic Pedagogical Agent (OLMRPA) and Online Learning with a Highly Realistic Pedagogical Agent (OLHRPA) were developed and implemented. A quasi-experimental 3x2 factorial design was employed; independent variables were three degrees of realism, the dependent variable was achievement scores, and the moderator variable was gender of students. The subjects were 130 Form Four students (16 years old) from Malaysian secondary schools who were randomly assigned to groups. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was employed to analyze data. The findings of the study suggest that there was no significant difference in the students’ achievement among the three degrees of realism in terms of their genders; both genders achieved almost the same across different degrees of realism. The reasons for the observed results are discussed and elaborated.
Keywords: Online learning, Pedagogical agent, Degree of realism, Gender issues