Title
Assessment with computer agents that engage in conversational dialogues and trialogues with learners.
Abstract
This article describes conversation-based assessments with computer agents that interact with humans through chat, talking heads, or embodied animated avatars. Some of these agents perform actions, interact with multimedia, hold conversations with humans in natural language, and adaptively respond to a person’s actions, verbal contributions, and emotions. Data are logged throughout the interactions in order to assess the individual’s mastery of subject matters, skills, and proficiencies on both cognitive and noncognitive characteristics. There are different agent-based designs that focus on learning and assessment. Dialogues occur between one agent and one human, as in the case of intelligent tutoring systems. Three-party conversations, called trialogues, involve two agents interacting with a human. The two agents can take on different roles (such as tutors and peers), model actions and social interactions, stage arguments, solicit help from the human, and collaboratively solve problems. Examples of assessment with these agent-based environments are presented in the context of intelligent tutoring, educational games, and interventions to help struggling adult readers. Most of these involve assessment at varying grain sizes to guide the intelligent interaction, but conversation-based assessment with agents is also currently being used in high stakes assessments.
Year
DOI
Venue
2017
10.1016/j.chb.2017.03.041
Computers in Human Behavior
Keywords
Field
DocType
Conversational agents,Conversation-based assessment,Intelligent tutoring systems,Trialogues
Social psychology,Psychological intervention,Conversation,Embodied agent,Summative assessment,Psychology,Embodied cognition,Natural language,Cognition,Formative assessment
Journal
Volume
ISSN
Citations 
76
0747-5632
4
PageRank 
References 
Authors
0.75
19
4
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Arthur C. Graesser11731200.42
zhiqiang cai234478.81
Brent Morgan3124.68
Lijia Wang440.75