Engineering researchers at the University of Waterloo are successfully using a robot to help children with learning disabilities focus on their work. That was one of the key findings of the new study, which also found that both youngsters and their instructors appreciate the positive contribution of the robot in the classroom.
Dr. Kerstin Dautenhahn, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering says “There is certainly great potential for the use of robots in the public education system, these findings suggest that the robot has a positive effect on students.”
One-on-one tutoring
Dautenhahn has been working on robotics in the context of disability for many years, incorporating principles of equality, inclusion and diversity into research projects. Students with learning disabilities may benefit from additional learning support such as one-on-one tutoring and the use of smartphones and tablets.
In recent years, educators have explored the use of social robots to help students learn, but most of their research has focused on children with autism spectrum disorders. As a result, little work has been done on the use of social assistance robots for students with learning disabilities.
Along with two other engineers from Waterloo and three experts from the Learning Disabilities Society in Vancouver, Dautenhahn decided to change that and conducted a series of tests with a small humanoid robot called QT.
Dautenhahn, Canada 150 Research Chair in Intelligent Robotics, said the robot’s ability to make gestures with its head and hands, accompanied by its speech and facial features, is well suited for use with children with learning disabilities.
Based on promising earlier research, the researchers divided 16 students with learning disabilities into two groups. In one group, students worked one-on-one with only the instructor. In the second group, students worked one-on-one with the instructor and the QT robot. In the second group, the instructor used a tablet to control the robot, which then autonomously performed various activities using its speech and gestures.
While the instructor directed the session, the robot took over the student at certain times, triggered by the instructor.
In addition to introducing the session, the robot set goals and provided self-regulation strategies when needed. If the learning process got off track, the robot used strategies such as games, puzzles, jokes, breathing exercises, and physical movements to redirect the learner back on task.
Students who worked with the robot, Dautenhahn said, “were generally more engaged with their assignments and could complete their assignments faster than students who were not assisted by the robot. Further studies using the robot are planned.
A paper on the study User Evaluation of Social Robots as a Tool in Individualized Learning Environments for Students with Learning Disabilities was recently presented at the International Conference on Social Robotics in Florence, Italy.
Written by: Vaishali Verma
