Robots are slowly attempting to make their way into the interpersonal aspects of human life. In ‘Robots in the class: Differences in students’ perceptions of credibility and learning between “teacher as robot” and “robot as teacher”’, Edwards et. al dives into experimentation and analysis to test the credibility and efficacy of robotic technologies in higher education classrooms.
Robots enabled as computer-mediated communication (CMC) between an instructor and student preserves the genuine interpersonal relationship. On the other hand, robots can also perform human-machine communication (HMC) between students and a robot instructor. Thus, there are two conditions to be considered: teacher as robot and robot as teacher, where robots “displace” by mediating the interactions with an instructor versus “replace” the human instructor all together.
The benefits of displacing technologies with telepresence robots are convenience for students and instructors, as well as cost and time effectiveness. However, research has found somewhat conflicting results. Distant learners were less satisfied compared to traditional learning environments, yet scored higher on exams and the overall course. On the other hand, learners have shared positive experiences as well and did not find an issue with the unfamiliarity and could focus on tasks at hand. Although the analysis within this paper displays surprising mixed results, it ignores the possible emotional factors that are induced with the lack of a traditional student-instructor environment. Telepresence robots may be beneficial for the final grade in a class, but the students’ lack of human interaction, making learning less of an enjoyable and shared experience.
Social robots designed to “replace” human teachers have also shown positive results for student success in their overall class performance. For example, students perform better in math when tutored by a robot (Brown, Kerwin, & Howard, 2013). Interestingly, students with autism can use social robots to reinforce their social behaviors.
Overall, student participants rated a human instructor using a telepresence robot and an autonomous social robot delivering the same lesson as credible. Students reported more affected learning from the teacher as a robot rather than a robot as a teacher, despite controlled instructional performance. As mentioned previously, the communal learning and relationships created with classmates and teachers is essential for an individual’s academic and personal growth. Given the COVID-19 virtual experience that everyone in academia has had to face, we can all attest for the effectiveness, but also low enjoyment overall. Although at that moment virtual learning can be seen as beneficial, in the long run, human interaction is a necessity for life, and robots will never replace that.
This analysis is super fascinating. I think if the students grades benefit from robot presence than that can only be a great thing. The issue at hand is arguing how beneficial it is for real human interaction. I know we all suffered during Covid not being in the classroom together but I think if there was still student interaction, then the positives of robot learning can benefit students while still developing their social interaction skills,
I agree that the basic structure of the study is really interesting. Especially with COVID, the presence of technology in classrooms has enabled our educations to progress in the absence of the classroom setting and face to face instruction, however there is still a major difference between the teacher as a robot and the robot as the teacher. I agree that as much as technology can be so useful to the academic world, there is no way it can replace human interaction. Our relationships with teachers and professors are our first professional relationships as children, and it is an important part of our social learning.
I agree with your observation that emotional factors are an important part of education. It’s hard to believe that students who are unhappy in the classroom will be more motivated to learn in the long-term. Furthermore, as Brooke mentioned, there is more that goes on in the classroom besides a transfer of information from teacher to student. Teachers play an important role in identifying and helping children who are having difficulty at home or with learning or with their peers. Thinking of grade school or middle school specifically, how can a robot identify when a child is in need outside of their academic performance?