Assessing Students in Human-to-Agent Settings to Inform Collaborative Problem-Solving Learning

• In Event: 58.037 - Issues and Challenges in School-Based Assessment Design

Abstract

In order to understand potential applications of collaborative problem solving (CPS) assessment tasks, it is necessary to examine empirically the multi-faceted student performance that may be distributed across collaboration methods and purposes of the assessment. One solution to these assessment demands is to use computer-based (virtual) agents to serve as the collaborators in the interactions with students. This paper proposes human-to-agent (H-A) approach for formative CPS assessment and describes an international pilot study aimed to provide preliminary empirical findings on the use of H-A CPS assessment to inform collaborative learning. Overall, the findings showed promise in terms of using H-A CPS assessment task as a formative tool for structuring effective groups in the context of CPS online learning.

Author

• Yigal Rosen, Harvard University