Bootstrapping a Socially Intelligent Tutoring Strategy

We present an approach for computer supported education in the form of a socially intelligent learning environment that is available online. It integrates problem solving and instructional materials into individual and group learning scenarios. A Wizard-of-Oz-driven computer tutor accompanies students to maintain their motivation within the learning environment. The agent can hold off-task conversations and guide students to appropriate learning opportunities. Its tutoring strategy is devised by a reinforcement learning control method that operates on socially motivated state and action spaces induced by the human wizard whose interface facilitates rapid prototyping of relevant states and taking appropriate actions. To make the learning algorithm feasible, states are grouped into equivalence classes according to wizard selected state features, and contextual and linguistic reflection is employed to adjust the immediate action to the current learner’s situation. The feasibility study of the socially intelligent agent demonstrated that students who engaged with the agent attained higher learning gains and liked the system more. The bootstrapping of the socially intelligent tutoring strategy was evaluated in simulated student scenarios. Evaluations suggest that our approach for using computers to support students in the learning process is technologically viable.