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38 - Multimedia Learning with Animated Pedagogical Agents

from Part VIII - Multimedia Learning with Media

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 November 2021

By
Fuxing Wang ,
Wenjing Li  and
Tingting Zhao
Edited by
Richard E. Mayer  and
Logan Fiorella
Richard E. Mayer
Affiliation:
University of California, Santa Barbara
Logan Fiorella
Affiliation:
University of Georgia
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Summary

A pedagogical agent (PA) is a computerized humanlike onscreen image whose purpose is to guide the learner’s attention and facilitate learning. In this chapter, the main findings from research on pedagogical agents are reviewed and a meta-analysis is used to reveal the specific role of PAs on learning outcomes, yielding an effect size of g = .45 on transfer performance and g = .23 on retention performance. We also examine explanations for why PAs could have a positive effect on learning performance based on social agency theory, the embodiment principle, and the signaling principle. In addition, this chapter summarizes the main moderating variables for the effect of PAs, including characteristics of the learner such as the learner's prior knowledge, characteristics of the learning environment such as the subject matter, and characteristics of the PA such as voice and gesture.

Keywords

pedagogical agentonscreen agentsocial agency theoryembodiment principlesignaling principlegesture
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Multimedia Learning , pp. 450 - 460
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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