Self-Assessment Through Interactive In-Action Reflections to Improve Interpersonal Skills Training

People often under or over-estimate their performance on interactive learning experiences with virtual agents, especially when it comes to interpersonal skills such as empathy. To generate more accurate self-assessment of performance, we propose the use of in-action reflective learning opportunities during interactive learning experiences with virtual agents. We conducted a user study in which third-year dental students (n=58) participated in an interactive learning experience that required them to demonstrate empathy towards a virtual agent playing the role of a patient. During the interaction, an in-action reflective learning intervention prompted the students to self-assess their performance with regards to empathy. Our results show that students' self-assessment correlates to an assessment performed by outside raters, and that students were significantly more empathetic on a second opportunity to demonstrate empathy to the virtual patient after having performed their reflection.