Abstract:

The Learning Academy is the faculty development unit at Temasek Polytechnic, Singapore. In the past 2 years, the unit has been driving many digital learning projects and providing support to lecturers in using technology to enhance teaching and learning. In this presentation, we will share the lessons learnt from two projects.

(1) Use of chatbots for student support. We explore the use of a chatbot embedded in the virtual classroom to answer student questions related to course materials, learning tasks and assignments, and to create collaborative learning experiences for students. In our pilot study involving a large student cohort (n=597) enrolled in a marketing module, 45% of student questions were answered by the bot, 46% of questions were answered by experts (tutors and peers) and 9% were unanswered as they were deemed to be irrelevant questions. According to the student survey, 90% of students who posted questions found the bot useful. Additionally, 89% indicated their willingness to respond to their peers' questions when the bot could not provide an answer. Moreover, 68% of students felt that reading the questions and replies helped improve their understanding of a topic or concept. We will discuss the challenges and opportunities of using chatbots in education, such as student predispositions and the need for effective implementation strategies.

(2) A study on the efficacy of agent-enabled nudge messages on learners’ online learning behaviours. As flipped learning gains traction in the post-COVID era, it is critical that instructors monitor learners’ learning progress. We wanted to address the issue of some learners who do not watch the asynchronous lecture videos and complete tutorial worksheets before coming to tutorial classes. A pilot project was implemented to explore how autonomous email messages could nudge learners towards adopting such positive learning behaviour in a flipped learning environment. Three tutorial lessons in a freshmen level microbiology course (n = 487) were selected. Customised emails were configured and sent using an intelligent agent (IA) tool in the Learning Management System (LMS). Learners who did not watch the online videos received a reminder email two days before the class. If they did not respond by watching the videos, another reminder was sent one day before the scheduled class. To nudge learner action, links to the lecture videos, the tutorial worksheet and time management resources were embedded in the reminder emails. Encouragement emails were sent to learners who viewed the videos to reinforce positive learning behaviour. From the LMS analytics, it was observed that there was a decrease in the number of learners who received reminders (meaning that they watched videos ahead of time) across the three tutorial sessions (from 48% to 42%), with the video analytics data showing an upward spike in video views coinciding with the launch of the study. Post-survey results showed that majority of learners perceived the reminder and encouragement emails to be useful. Focus group discussions revealed that adoption of a personal and encouraging tone in the emails, provision of direct links to the learning resources, and strategically timed emails were the key factors in promoting learner actions. Overall, the IA reminders were considered effective as supported by the quantitative and qualitative data, showing the potential of such tools for promoting self-awareness and desirable learning behaviour.

Keywords:

Chatbots, nudges, intelligent agents, digital learning.