Publication

Co-designing a trustworthy peer agent with middle-school students for learning math

Narek Shamamyan, Man Su, Tomohiro Nagashima

ACM IDC2025 · 2025

@inproceedings{shamamyan2025codesigning,
  title     = {Co-designing a trustworthy peer agent with middle-school students for learning math},
  author    = {Narek Shamamyan and Man Su and Tomohiro Nagashima},
  booktitle = {ACM IDC2025},
  year      = {2025},
  doi       = {10.1145/3713043.3728847},
}

Abstract

A number of interactive technologies for learning integrate virtual agents—as expert or peer agents—in their interactions to support student learning across domains. However, these agents tend to be mainly designed to foster students’ cognitive and metacognitive aspects, without addressing a critical component of fostering trust with students. We conducted a co-design study with 11 students and one teacher on trustworthy virtual peer agents (VPAs) with Armenian middle school students for math learning. Through a three-phase design-based approach, students and their teacher collaborated to develop six VPA prototypes, differentiated by appearance (human, robot, animal) and communication style (trustworthy vs. untrustworthy). Results from post-design semi-structured interviews reveal that students’ trust in VPAs is shaped not only by visual appearance but also by empathetic and communication factors. These findings offer valuable insights for creating effective and trustworthy interactions within educational technologies through virtual agents.