Intelligent User Interface Design for Teachable Agent Systems
Joan Davis, Krittaya Leelawong, Kadira Belynne, Bobby Bodenheimer, Gautam Biswas, Nancy Vye, and John Bransford
Abstract
This paper describes the interface components for a system called
Betty’s Brain, an intelligent agent we have developed for studying
the learning by teaching paradigm. Our previous studies have shown
that students gain better understanding of domain knowledge when they
prepare to teach others versus when they prepare to take an exam. This
finding has motivated us to develop computer agents that students
teach using concept map representations with a visual interface. Betty
is intelligent not because she learns on her own, but because she can
apply qualitative-reasoning techniques to answer questions that are
directly related to what she has been taught through the concept
map. We evaluate the agent’s interfaces in terms of how well they
support learning activities, using examples of their use by fifth
grade students in an extensive study that we performed in a Nashville
public school. A critical analysis of the outcome of our studies has
led us to propose the next generation interfaces in a multi-agent
paradigm that should be more effective in promoting constructivist
learning and self-regulation in the learning by teaching framework.
The teachable agents web page is here.
Bobby Bodenheimer 
Last modified: Wed Jun 25 14:20:18 CDT 2003