Horizon of Medical Education Development

Horizon of Medical Education Development

Educational Agent's Role and Learning

Document Type : Review Article

Authors
1 Associate Professor, Department of Technical Education, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Allameh Tabatabai University, Tehran, Iran.
2 Student of Educational Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Allameh Tabatabai University, Tehran, Iran.
Abstract
Introduction: Educational agents are on-screen characters capable of influencing learning outcomes and learner behaviors by assuming various roles. Historically, these agents have evolved from electronic performance support systems and tutoring systems toward human-like avatars; following advancements in artificial intelligence and its application in learning, they have emerged—as "intelligent educational agents"—as a prominent topic in the field of educational technology, applicable to instruction in various disciplines, including medicine.
Materials & Methods:This study conducted a systematic review by precisely, systematically, and methodically identifying research related to the roles of educational agents and their impact, covering the years 2010 to 2019 across the ScienceDirect, Springer, Google Scholar, and IEEE Xplore databases. The selection process was limited to English-language articles based on empirical research. The keywords "educational agent" and "pedagogical agent" were used to locate the articles.
Results: Based on the search strategy—and after excluding items where the full text was inaccessible and the abstract lacked sufficient information, or which were irrelevant to the research questions—a total of 30 articles were examined. The findings indicated that educational agents assume various roles in different situations, such as instructor, specialist, facilitator, motivator, and provider of feedback.
Conclusion: : By assuming diverse roles—such as providing feedback, offering encouragement, fostering motivation, facilitating, and coaching—an educational agent can positively influence both learning outcomes and learner behaviors. Therefore, the use of educational agents is essential when designing e-learning environments to enhance the quality of learning.
Keywords

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