Affective Learning Companion

Win Burleson

Affective Learning Companion
Developing learning experiences that facilitate self-actualization and creativity is among the most important goals of our society in preparation for the future. To facilitate deep understanding of a new concept—to facilitate learning—learners must have the opportunity to develop multiple and flexible perspectives. The process of becoming an expert involves failure, understanding failure, and the motivation to move onward. Meta-cognitive awareness and personal strategies can play a role in developing an individual’s ability to persevere through failure and combat other diluting influences. This research will center upon the development of a theory for using affective sensing and appropriate relational agent interactions to support learning and meta-cognitive strategies for perseverance through failure. We will investigate, design, build, and evaluate relational agents that may act as intelligent tutors, virtual peers, or a group of virtual friends to support learning, creativity, playful imagination, motivation, and to pursue the development of meta-cognitive skills that persist beyond interaction with the technology.

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