Abstract:
Robots possess unique affordances granted by combining software and hardware. Most existing research focuses on the impact of these affordances on human-robot collaboration, but the theory of how robots can facilitate human-human collaboration is underdeveloped. Such theory would be beneficial in education. An educational device can afford collaboration in both assembly and use. This thesis will enumerate and validate the design principles of educational devices that facilitate collaborative assembly and collaborative learning.
 
This research draws upon cognitive theories used in the disciplines of ComputerSupported Collaborative Work (CSCW), Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL), Educational Robotics, and Human-Robot Interaction (HRI). Each discipline uses theories that align with their respective goals to model different pieces of cognition. However, they do not consider other factors outside their respective goals. Diverse analytical lenses are needed to understand the multiple dimensions of influence an educational device can have on human-human interaction to support collaborative assembly and collaborative learning.
 
We explore these dimensions first through the development and assessment of RoboLoom, a robotic Jacquard loom kit designed for interdisciplinary, collaborative education. Through the study of RoboLoom’s use and assembly in an undergraduate course, we extract design features that facilitate student-student collaboration during classroom activities. These features encompass task complexity, task parallelization, physicality, repetition of tasks, specificity of hardware, and familiarity with hardware.
 
Our proposed work would further refine these identified design features into a cohesive set of design principles. We will accomplish this through further testing of variant designs in multiple classroom settings across diverse populations. Subsequent design iterations will explore implementations that both adhere to and deviate from these principles. We will then test these features in isolation and classroom scenarios. By evaluating these systems through multiple cognitive lenses, the study aims to determine the efficacy of the proposed design principles in facilitating collaborative assembly and collaborative learning.
 
Thesis Committee Members:
Melisa Orta, Co-chair
Illah Nourbakhsh, Co-chair
James McCann
Kylie Peppler, University of California, Irvine