Enhancing student engagement in online collaborative writing through a generative AI-based conversational agent

IF 6.4 1区教育学 Q1 EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH

Internet and Higher Education Pub Date : 2024-11-17 DOI:10.1016/j.iheduc.2024.100979

Wanqing Hu , Jirong Tian , Yanyan Li

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Promoting student engagement in online collaborative writing (OCW) activities has been a critical concern for educators. Previous research has attempted to design conversational agents (CAs) utilizing retrieval-based models to engage students in collaborative learning. However, few studies have yet explored the design of CAs for OCW based on generative AI (GAI) models. Researchers are calling for investigations into how GAI technology can be better utilized to support learning. Addressing this gap, this study integrates advanced AI technologies (i.e. the retrieval-based model, GAI model, and retrieval-augmented generation) to develop a CA aimed at enhancing students' engagement in OCW activities. Furthermore, a quasi-experiment involving 78 undergraduate students was conducted to explore the effects of this CA on students' engagement (including behavioral, cognitive, and emotional engagement) and group writing performance. The results indicate that the CA did not significantly impact behavioral engagement, emotional engagement, or group writing performance. However, it was found to significantly enhance students' cognitive engagement, particularly by supporting students in sharing opinions, explaining concepts, and engaging in analysis. This research offers both theoretical and practical implications for better utilizing GAI technology to facilitate OCW activities.

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通过生成式人工智能会话代理增强学生在线协作写作的参与度

促进学生参与在线协作写作（OCW）活动一直是教育工作者关注的一个关键问题。先前的研究试图利用基于检索的模型来设计会话代理（ca），以吸引学生参与协作学习。然而，基于生成式人工智能（GAI）模型的开放式课程CAs设计研究还很少。研究人员呼吁调查如何更好地利用人工智能技术来支持学习。为了解决这一差距，本研究整合了先进的人工智能技术（即基于检索的模型、GAI模型和检索增强生成）来开发旨在提高学生参与开放式课程活动的CA。在此基础上，我们对78名大学生进行了准实验，探讨了这种CA对学生参与（包括行为参与、认知参与和情感参与）和小组写作表现的影响。结果表明，CA对行为投入、情感投入或小组写作表现没有显著影响。然而，研究发现，它可以显著提高学生的认知参与，特别是通过支持学生分享观点、解释概念和参与分析。本研究为更好地利用GAI技术促进开放式课程活动提供了理论和实践意义。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Internet and Higher Education EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH-

CiteScore

19.30

自引率

4.70%

发文量

审稿时长

40 days

期刊介绍： The Internet and Higher Education is a quarterly peer-reviewed journal focused on contemporary issues and future trends in online learning, teaching, and administration within post-secondary education. It welcomes contributions from diverse academic disciplines worldwide and provides a platform for theory papers, research studies, critical essays, editorials, reviews, case studies, and social commentary.