Can a Polite Intelligent Tutoring System Lead to Improved Learning Outside of the Lab?
Bruce M. McLaren
Sung-Joo Lim
David Yaron
Ken Koedinger
10.1184/R1/6469871.v1
https://kilthub.cmu.edu/articles/journal_contribution/Can_a_Polite_Intelligent_Tutoring_System_Lead_to_Improved_Learning_Outside_of_the_Lab_/6469871
In this work we are investigating the learning benefits of e-Learning
principles (a) within the context of a web-based intelligent tutor and (b) in the
“wild,” that is, in real classroom (or homework) usage, outside of a controlled
laboratory. In the study described in this paper, we focus on the benefits of
politeness, as originally formulated by Brown and Levinson and more recently
studied by Mayer and colleagues. We test the learning benefits of a stoichiometry
tutor that provides polite problem statements, hints, and error messages as
compared to one that provides more direct feedback. Although we find a small, but
not significant, trend toward the polite tutor leading to better learning gains, our
findings do not replicate that of Wang et al., who found significant learning gains
through polite tutor feedback. While we hypothesize that an e-Learning principle
such as politeness may not be robust enough to survive the transition from the lab
to the “wild,” we will continue to experiment with the polite stoichiometry tutor.
2007-01-01 00:00:00
Human Computer Interaction