This study examined the affordances of an embodied humanoid robot to engage children in play and learning from the perspective of embodied cognition in two studies as part of multiyear design research. In Study One, we observed how the robot’s embodiment, accompanied by its sensors and movements, elicited embodied reactions of eleven children (aged 3 to 6) while they played and learned with the robot one-on-one at home and in school. Two distinct patterns emerged: rich multimodal interaction and fluid learning space. Additionally, the children demonstrated extended attention in the interactions and invited peers into voluntary collaboration. In Study Two, we implemented an interaction triad with ten pairs of children, in which each pair collaborated to help a robot, and observed their collaborative communication while they solved problems involving early academic topics. Three embodied phenomena were noted: (i) embodiment of early mathematics and science knowledge and reasoning, (ii) appropriation of physical space, and (iii) embodied collaboration. Importantly, it was clear in both studies that embodiment occurred not only in thinking but also in social and emotional experiences. We discuss the implications of the findings in relation to the potential of humanoid robots for enabling embodied learning experiences.

This qualitative study explored the design and implementation of a humanoid social robot that mediated collaborative interactions among culturally and linguistically diverse kindergarten children in a US school. The robotic mediation was designed to help children have positive interactions with one another. The study was grounded in theories of childhood development, intercultural communication, and culturally responsive pedagogy. Design research and ethnographic qualitative research methods were used to design, test, and improve the robot’s mediation skills over a ten-week period of active use in a real-world classroom setting. Findings describe the challenges we faced in designing robot-mediated interaction activities as well as the solutions we implemented through repeated ethnographic observations, summarized as (1) anticipating children’s communication styles with flexible design, (2) inviting children to participate with personalized, friend-like communication, (3) enhancing engagement with familiar contexts, and (4) embracing language diversity with a bilingual robot.

No abstract

No abstract