Experimental evaluation of polite interaction tactics for pedagogical agents

Abstract

Recent research shows that instructors commonly use politeness strategies to achieve affective scaffolding in educational contexts. The importance of affective factors such as self-confidence and interest that contribute to learner motivation is well recognized. In this paper, we describe the results of a Wizard-of-Oz experiment to study the effect of politeness strategies on both cognitive and motivational factors. We compare the results of two different politeness strategies, direct and polite, in assisting seventeen students in a computer-based learning task. We find that politeness can affect students' motivational state and help students learn difficult concepts. The results of the experiment provide a basis for the design of a polite pedagogical agent and its tutorial intervention strategies.