Effects of Collaborative Learning between Educational-Support Robots and Children who Potential Symptoms of a Development Disability

Abstract

With the advancement in robotics, more attention has been paid to the development of educational-support robots that assist in learning. Although most existing studies report the effects of collaborative learning between educational-support robots and healthy children, since the number of children with developmental disorders in primary schools has increased annually, it is necessary to develop educational-support robots for children with development disorders. Therefore, a recent study developed a robot that teaches children with developmental disorders. However, existing studies do not reported educational-support robots for children who have potential symptoms of a development disability, also referred to as "gray zone children." This study investigates effects of collaborative learning between robots and gray zone children. In collaborative learning, the child and the robot alternately read aloud one page of teaching material. These children have symptoms similar to ADHD and difficulty learning over long periods of time. The robot is designed to work by the Wizard of Oz method and interacts with children in real time.