Engaging Collaborative Learners with Helping Agents

Speaker
Carolyn Rosé
Assistant Professor, Language Technologies Institute and the Human-Computer Interaction Institute, Carnegie Mellon University

When
-

Where
Newell-Simon Hall 1305 (Michael Mauldin Auditorium)

Video
Video link

Description

This talk presents recent research in a multi-year effort to optimize the design of dynamic support for collaborative design learning in the domain of thermodynamics, using as a foundation the CyclePad simulator developed by Ken Forbus at Northwestern University. This environment allows students to implement design ideas using graphical interface widgets, and to explore the relationships between the settings of various parameters within the design. In the recent study I will describe, we specifically focused on issues related to “Green Design” with Rankine cycle based power plants. In the collaborative design exercise, students worked in pairs to struggle with trade-offs between power output and environmental friendliness in the design of their power plant. We contrasted alternative forms of collaborative learning support in terms of learning gains, perception of collaboration and of the collaboration environment, as well as dynamics of the conversations themselves.

Speaker's Bio

Carolyn Rose is an Assistant Professor with a joint appointment between the Language Technologies Institute and the Human-Computer Interaction Institute. The driving question behind her research is how to develop technology capable of both shaping conversation and supporting conversation to achieve a positive impact on human learning.

Speaker's Website
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~cprose/