Robot Assists Students with Learning Impairments Maintain Concentration

Kids with learning disabilities (LD) struggle with certain skills like reading, writing, or arithmetic. Researchers and specialists have discovered that an adorable tiny robot may aid in maintaining concentration in kids with learning problems.

This was one of the main findings in recent research. The research revealed that both the students and their teachers recognized the robot’s positive classroom contributions. According to Dr. Kerstin Dautenhahn, an electrical and computer engineering professor, there is hope for robot use in public education.

Dautenhahn has dedicated years to researching robot use in the area of disability. His research project uses numerous concepts such as equality, inclusion, and diversity.

Educators have recently investigated the use of social robots to aid student learning. However, most of their studies have been on kids with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). So far, the use of socially helpful robots for kids with learning difficulties has received minimal research.

Dautenhahn decided to alter this with two other engineering researchers from Waterloo and three specialists from the Learning Disabilities Association in Vancouver. To do this, they ran several experiments using a little humanoid robot named QT. QT is the first robot made exclusively as a tool to help ASD children. It talks and makes facial emotions and gestures.

The researchers set out to examine how kids with LD interacted with a social robot and how bringing a robot into the classroom affected students and instructors.

The Robot Experiment

The current research included 16 kids aged seven to twelve who had a probable or verified diagnosis of LD with reading. Eight students served as controls, while the others had sessions with the QT robot.

The researchers designed a web application interface for instructors, giving a protocol for the students that comprised warm-up activities, games, and breathing exercises. An application on a tablet allowed instructors to operate the QT robot.

Although instructors were in charge of the robot, QT operated independently when the instructor activated it. As the student veered off course, the robot employed games, jokes, breathing exercises, and physical movement to bring their attention back on target.

The instructors noted information from the experiment. According to the research, students who participated in QT sessions showed increased involvement and fewer off-task behaviors. The students were open to interacting with QT in subsequent lessons because they thought the robot was amusing, clever, and nice.

There are plans for further robot-based research initiatives.

The featured image is taken from luxai.com