Do 3D Pedagogical Agents Help Students Learn Science?: A Systematic Review

Why Use 3D Pedagogical Agents For Teaching Science?

Previous research suggests that virtual characters may provide motivational benefits (Gulz, 2004), and that pedagogical agents may “significantly increase the effectiveness of learning environments” (Lester, et al., 1997, p. 360). This is important, as science may be viewed as a difficult subject by many students (White & Fredrikson, 1998). Thus, it is apparent that 3D pedagogical agents may be an appropriate medium to not only help motivate students to learn a challenging scientific subject, but also provide them with a meaningful learning tool through 3-dimensional virtual reality environments. Three-dimensional pedagogical agents may be more appropriate and effective than 2D agents as they may appear more realistic. As noted above, Veletsianos (2007) suggests that improving the visual quality of the agent may change its effect on learning, and thus making the agent more realistic may be beneficial to the learning process.