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Peer-reviewed article

The case for social agency in computer-based teaching: Do students learn more deeply when they interact with animated pedagogical agents?

January 1, 2001 | Media and Technology
College students (in Experiment 1) and 7th-grade students (in Experiment 2) learned how to design the roots, stem, and leaves of plants to survive in 8 different environments through a computer-based multimedia lesson. They learned by interacting with an animated pedagogical agent who spoke to them (Group PA) or received identical graphics and explanations as on-screen text without a pedagogical agent (Group No PA). Group PA outperformed Group No PA on transfer tests and interest ratings but not on retention tests. To investigate further the basis for this personal agent effect, we varied the interactivity of the agent-based lesson (Experiment 3) and found an interactivity effect: Students who participate in the design of plant parts remember more and transfer what they have learned to solve new problems better than students who learn the same materials without participation. Next, we varied whether the agent's words were presented as speech or on-screen text, and whether the agent's image appeared on the screen. Both with a fictional agent (Experiment 4) and a video of a human face (Experiment 5), students performed better on tests of retention and problem-solving transfer when words were presented as speech rather than on-screen text (producing a modality effect) but visual presence of the agent did not affect test performance (producing no image effect). Results support the introduction of interactive pedagogical agents who communicate with students via speech to promote meaningful learning in multimedia lessons.

TEAM MEMBERS

  • Roxana Moreno
    Author
    University of New Mexico
  • Richard Mayer
    Author
    University of California, Santa Barbara
  • Hiller Spires
    Author
    North Carolina State University
  • James Lester
    Author
    North Carolina State University
  • Citation

    Publication Name: Cognition and Instruction
    Volume: 19
    Number: 2
    Page Number: 177
    Resource Type: Research Products
    Discipline: Education and learning science
    Audience: Middle School Children (11-13) | Undergraduate/Graduate Students
    Environment Type: Media and Technology | Websites, Mobile Apps, and Online Media

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