Repairing disengagement in collaborative dialogue for game-based learning

Abstract

Successfully promoting engagement within learning environments is a subject of increasing attention within the AI in Education community. Evidence is mounting that game-based learning environments hold great potential to engage students, but disengaged behavior is still observed. Devising adaptive strategies to re-engage students in the learning task is a key open research question. Toward that end, this paper examines the collaborative behavior of pairs of middle school students solving game-based computer science problems. We examine the dialogue moves that were used by a more engaged learner to repair a partner's disengagement and consider the implications that these strategies may have for designing collaborative game-based learning environments. © 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.