Role-Play Simulation with AI in Education: Historical Foundations, Current Trends, and New Frontiers

• In Event: Immersive and Experiential Learning with Simulations

Abstract

This systematic literature review synthesized 67 scholarly publications to examine how the emergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) transforms the pedagogical uses of role-play simulation (RPS) in education. We examined the trends of using RPS across major, education level, and learning outcomes before and after the emergence of AI. We explored the characteristics of using AI in RPS. The results indicated that AI-powered RPS included more disciplines and a broader range of educational levels, and led to the emergence of new learning outcome categories. Our findings revealed that the current RPS with AI relied heavily on closed-source, single-modal models. The paper discussed the limitations of existing research and proposed future directions for research on RPS in education.

Authors

• Rong Ren, Texas A&M University

• Leyang Xu, Texas A&M University

• Huixin Zhang, Texas A&M University

• Yuling Zhuang, Texas A&M University

• Zhengzhong Tu, Texas A&M University