Young children’s embodied interactions with a social robot

Abstract

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.

Towards Happy Housework: Scenario-Based Experience Design for a Household Cleaning Robotic System

“…In the education domain, Kim and Tscholl studied young children's embodied interactions with a social robot [31]. They found the potential of humanoid robots as an enabler to embodied learning experiences and social and emotional experiences [31].…”

“…In the education domain, Kim and Tscholl studied young children's embodied interactions with a social robot [31]. They found the potential of humanoid robots as an enabler to embodied learning experiences and social and emotional experiences [31]. Jong et al suggest that entertainment-related experiences may drive children's intention to adopt a domestic social robot [32].…”

Fostering Computational Thinking and Problem-Solving in Programming: Integrating Concept Maps Into Robot Block-Based Programming

“…Compared to other forms of technology, a robot empowers more natural interaction, implying that an educational robot assists students in exploring and interacting with a real-world environment (Evripidou et al, 2021). Several previous studies have investigated the interaction between children and robots in different contexts, such as digital storytelling (Liang & Hwang, 2023), foreign language learning (Lee et al, 2011), and social and emotional learning (Kim & Tscholl, 2021), suggesting the necessary capabilities that robots should have in allowing personalized interactions with humans (Woo et al, 2021).…”

“…Educational robots are capable of facilitating students’ inquiry and interaction in a real-life context by means of adopting sensors and actuators in learning activities (Evripidou et al, 2021). Some research has taken advantage of educational robots for promoting students’ programming skills (Hsiao et a., 2022), learning motivation (Kim & Tscholl, 2021), and engagement in learning tasks (Chen et al, 2022). For example, Leroy and Romero (2022) investigated the way students solved educational robotic tasks, and asserted that modular robotic cubes facilitated their effective creative solutions and engagement in the tasks.…”

“…Educational robotics has been an attractive approach for promoting young learners’ computational thinking, due to the direct interaction with a robot and the observability of the immediate impacts (Angeli & Valanides, 2020). Adopting robots in education has been evidenced to be of benefit to students’ learning motivation (Kim & Tscholl, 2021), and CT skills (Leroy & Romero, 2022). Moreover, several studies have demonstrated that young learners engaged in computational thinking activities while using robots, and emphasized the significance of providing scaffolding or problem-solving strategies to develop their CT (Kert et al, 2020; Strawhacker & Bers, 2019).…”