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Author Spotlight: Addressing Technical and Subjective Challenges in Measuring Classroom Attention
Published on: December 15, 2023
Physical embodiment and anthropomorphism of AI tutors and their role in student enjoyment and performance
Helene Ackermann1,2, Anja Henke3,4, Johann Chevalère5
1Department of Educational Sciences, University of Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht-Straße 24/25, 14476, Potsdam, Germany. helene.ackermann@uni-potsdam.de.
Abstract:
Rising interest in artificial intelligence in education reinforces the demand for evidence-based implementation. This study investigates how tutor agents' physical embodiment and anthropomorphism (student-reported sociability, animacy, agency, and disturbance) relate to affective (on-task enjoyment) and cognitive (task performance) learning within an intelligent tutoring system (ITS). Data from 56 students (M = 17.75 years, SD = 2.63 years; 30.4% female), working with an emotionally-adaptive version of the ITS "Betty's Brain", were analyzed. The ITS' agents were either depicted as on-screen robots (condition A) or as both on-screen avatars and physical robots (condition B). Physical presence of the tutor agent was not significantly related to task performance or anthropomorphism, but to higher initial on-task enjoyment. Student-reported disturbance was negatively related to initial on-task enjoyment, and student-reported sociability was negatively related to task performance. While physical robots may increase initial on-task enjoyment, students' perception of certain characteristics may hinder learning, providing implications for designing social robots for education.
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