The impact of three pedagogical agent roles

This exploratory experimental study validated the effectiveness of pedagogical agent roles for promoting motivational and learning outcomes within the MIMIC agent-based learning environment. In a between-subjects design, 73 learners worked with an agent representing one of the following three agent roles while learning about instructional planning: Motivator, Expert, or Mentor (designed to incorporate both motivation and expertise). The roles were evaluated according to three contrast comparisons, comparing the value of the agents with and without motivation, the value of the agents with and without expertise, and the overall value of the Mentor agent (which combined motivation and expertise). Results indicated that the motivational agents (Motivator & Mentor) were significantly more engaging, human-like and facilitative of learning than the Expert agent, yet were also less credible. The agents with expertise (Expert & Mentor) were significantly more credible, and led to better performance on the transfer measure than the Motivator agent, yet were also less supportive and less human-like. Overall, the Mentor was perceived as significantly more engaging and facilitative of learning than the other two agents, and also led to significantly better transfer performance.