Dialogic Reading with Conversational Agents
This line of research involves the integration of conversational agents (CAs) into ebooks using Google’s voice-driven interface (Google Assistant). The CA pauses at particular points in the story and prompts children to answer an open-ended question. The CA gives feedback on the children’s responses, explaining why the answer is correct or incorrect. In cases where children fail to produce comprehensible answers (due to fuzzy pronunciation or a lack of comprehension of the prompt), the CA rephrases the original question in a multiple-choice format.
Findings from initial studies were published in Computers & Education and Child Development (open access). Consistently, this research has demonstrated the affordances of utilizing CAs as children's language partners during storybook reading.
Findings from initial studies were published in Computers & Education and Child Development (open access). Consistently, this research has demonstrated the affordances of utilizing CAs as children's language partners during storybook reading.
Most current CAs cater to monolingual children and are not designed to promote parental engagement in the learning process. To fill this gap, in partnership with the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop, we have iteratively developed and evaluated a Spanish-English bilingual CA embodied in Rosita from Sesame Street and integrated into culturally relevant children’s ebooks. The CA is capable of code-switching, comprehending, and responding to multilingual children's mixed language use.
Our CA design centers on two types of questions: child questions and family questions. Child questions are designed to encourage children to follow along with the stories and test their comprehension of narrative content. Family questions, on the other hand, are aimed at promoting dialogue between the child and their parents (or other family members), extending the conversation to include personal experiences or broader topics related to the story. In this way, the shared reading experience presents an opportunity for deeper connection and discussion on cultural and familial themes. Our design not only supports language development and engagement but also emphasizes parent-child interaction to make the reading process more enriching.
Our CA design centers on two types of questions: child questions and family questions. Child questions are designed to encourage children to follow along with the stories and test their comprehension of narrative content. Family questions, on the other hand, are aimed at promoting dialogue between the child and their parents (or other family members), extending the conversation to include personal experiences or broader topics related to the story. In this way, the shared reading experience presents an opportunity for deeper connection and discussion on cultural and familial themes. Our design not only supports language development and engagement but also emphasizes parent-child interaction to make the reading process more enriching.
Our pilot lab study, winner of the Best Paper Award at IDC ‘23, demonstrated that the bilingual CA effectively promoted children’s verbal engagement and language development while also encouraging meaningful parent-child dialogue related to the story. Feedback from parents highlighted the cultural relevance of the content, the importance of bilingual support, and the potential for enhancing family bonding through shared experiences and discussions initiated by the conversational agent. A follow-up user study conducted among 15 families (currently under review), extended these findings.
Key Findings:
- The bilingual CA successfully facilitated shared reading sessions, encouraging rich verbal interactions between parents and children.
- Children showed improvements in vocabulary and story comprehension, indicating the educational effectiveness of the CA.
- Parents appreciated the bilingual design and cultural relevance of the CA, noting that it fostered family bonding and supported their children's bilingual language development.