Samhällsanalytiker och frilansskribent Stefan Pålson skriver om Rutiga Familjens forskningsprojekt ”Talking and Seeing Math in Games” på Omvärldsbloggen som sköts av honom och drivs av Skolverket, It i skolan. Han tar upp RF som ett av redan pågående ” intressanta projekt som stakar ut lämpliga vägar för undervisning och lärande.”
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En ny artikel ”A Teachable Agent Game Engaging Primary School Children to Learn Arithmetic Concepts and Reasoning” har publicerats i en internationell tidskrift om intelligenta spel och andra digitala verktyg i skolmiljö: International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education av Springer

(eftersom artikeln publiceras internationellt, är den på engelska).
Abstrakt:  In this paper we will describe a learning environment designed to foster conceptual understanding and reasoning in mathematics among younger school children. The learning environment consists of 48 2-player game variants based on a graphical model of arithmetic where the mathematical content is intrinsically interwoven with the game idea. The environment also features teachable agents, which are computer programs that can be taught and behave according to their knowledge. Thus, the environment provides both learning-by-doing (playing the game) and learning-by-teaching (teaching the agent to play). It differs from other learning-by-teaching systems 1) by targeting basic mathematics and primary grade students; 2) by using teachable agents as an extension to educational games in order to leverage engagement, reflection and learning; and 3) by using an agent-driven question dialogue to challenge students’ mathematical thinking, to role-model learner behaviour and to transfer game knowledge to out-of-game mathematics. The teachable agent game is described and evaluated in an authentic classroom study enrolling 443 students from 22 classes in 9 schools. Students range from 2^nd to 6^th grade of mainstream classes and 7^th to 8^th grade for students with difficulties in mathematics. Part of the study was designed as a quasi-experimental study with controls; part was designed to examine students’ change in mental models of arithmetic before and after game play. All students took pre- and post mathematics tests. The 314 playing students used the game and taught their agents during regular math-classes for three months, whereas the control classes attended standard instruction and took the tests. A questionnaire was distributed in the end of the study to investigate students’ perceptions and performances of the agent-tutoring task. Results show that 1) there is a significant learning gain for playing student compared to controls, 2) the learning environment can engage children in advanced mathematical thinking in early education, 3) that young primary students can act as successful tutors. Thus, we conclude that teachable agents is a candidate for leveraging learning in educational games to deeper levels that transfer outside the game. This idea combines the motivational power of games with the reflective power of a teachable agent asking though-provoking, deep questions on the learning material during game play.

Pareto, L. (2014). A Teachable Agent Game Engaging Primary School Children to Learn Arithmetic Concepts and Reasoning. In International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education, Volume 24, Issue 3, pp 251-283. Springer New York.

Lena Pareto besöker LearnIT konferensen Game in ´Action i Göteborg, där hon presenterar följande artikel. Utility Games: gaming as a design strategy to achieve utility effects.

Till APLEC konferensen International Workshop on Adaptation and Personalization in E-B/Learning using Pedagogic Conversational Agents, in Hawaii, USA, presenterade Lena Pareto följande artikel 2010: A Teachable Agent Game for Elementary School Mathematics promoting Causal Reasoning and Choice (eftersom artikeln publiceras internationellt, är den på engelska.)
Abstrakt: We describe a mathematics computer game for children designed to promote causal reasoning, choice-making, and other higher-order cognitive activities. The game consists of a choice-based board game, enhanced with a conversational, teachable agent, taught to play the game, by the child, through demonstrations and questions. Game design is motivated by causal reasoning theory and educational psychology. The game is currently evaluated in an ongoing large-scale study that seeks to investigate the game’s effects on the players’ abilities to reason and make productive choices. The study involves 20 elementary-school classes at different levels. » Läs mer på s.18

”Högskolan Väst har tillsammans med Stanford University och Lunds universitet tilldelats 1, 2 miljoner kronor för att utveckla grundskolans matematikundervisning med hjälp av IT och digitala whiteboard. Forshällaskolan i Uddevalla kommer nu i en studie att använda sig av Rutiga familjen, ett grafiskt matematikprogram utvecklat av Lena Pareto, forskare vid Högskolan Väst.”]
Wallenbergstiftelsen storsatsar på forskningsprojekt om matematik och IT.”
Nyhet Högskolan Väst, Trollhättan, fredag 26 september 2008 » Läs mer

Rutiga Familjen deltar i WGLN:s symposium i Lund, Harnessing Technology for Learning – University and School Partnerships. Symposiet är en del av en större satsning på lärande och informationsteknik som Knut och Alice Wallenbergs Stiftelse finansierar. Målsättningen är att lyfta fram nya tekniker och metoder för undervisning på grundskola och gymnasium – även särskolor – och att förverkliga dessa i konkreta klassrumsanpassade verktyg som i det dagliga arbetet verkar stimulerande för både elever och lärare.

Lena Pareto, vars proof-of-concept finansierades av WGLN 2006-2007, presenterar matematikspelet och pilotstudiens resultat:

Who plays the math game best – you or the agent you just taught?
Teachable Agent Games for Early Math

Under symposiet tas första kontakten med Lund Universitet och grunden till ett framtida samarbete läggs.