Supporting Inclusive Learning Using Chatbots? A Chatbot-Led Interview Study

Abstract

Supporting student academic success has been one of the major goals for higher education. However, low teacher-to-student ratio makes it difficult for students to receive sufficient and personalized support that they might want to. The advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) and conversational agents, such as chatbots, has provided opportunities for assisting learning for different types of students. This research aims at investigating the opportunities and requirements of chatbots as an intelligent helper to facilitate equity in learning. We developed a chatbot as an experimental platform to investigate the design opportunities of using chatbots to support inclusive learning. Through a chatbot-led user study with 215 undergraduate students, we found chatbots provide the opportunity to support students who are disadvantaged, with diverse life environments, and with varied learning styles. This could be achieved through an accessible, interactive, and confidential wa