‘How Would you Score Yourself?’: The Effect of Self-assessment Strategy Through Robots on Children’s Motivation and Performance in Piano Practice

Abstract

This research examines how to design social robots to support self-regulated learning skills for piano practice. More specifically, a social robot is used to provide feedback to children and initiate self-assessment. To assess the impact of this approach on children’s motivation and performance, we conducted an experiment in a music school where 50 children practiced with both a self-assessment and a non-evaluative robot. Results showed that when the children interacted with the self-assessment robot they had higher motivation and better performance than when they interacted with the non-evaluative robot. Furthermore, interaction effects were found between the robot conditions, the children’s learning stages, and their gender regarding their motivation and rhythm performance. Overall, the study demonstrates a positive influence of robot-initiated self-assessment on children’s musical instrument practice and provided insights for personalized child-robot interaction design.