Empowering Learners: Chatbot-Mediated 'Learning-by-Teaching'

Chatbots and online learning platforms provide synthesized information to learners. However, research shows learning is particularly effective when learners themselves teach someone. Prior work has explored an interactive instructional approach called ‘Learning-by-teaching’, but this approach traditionally relies on human counterparts, limiting it to their interest and co-located settings. To overcome these limitations, we investigated whether we can empower learners using chatbot-mediated ‘learning-by-teaching.’ We designed an agnostic, open-source chatbot replicating a virtual student, to which learners teach to learn. We conducted an experiment involving 24 students to evaluate the effectiveness of chatbot-mediated teaching compared to textbook-based problem-solving practice. Results indicate that teaching the chatbot benefits student learning than textbook-based problem-solving. This work highlights the effectiveness of chatbots, envisioning their design as virtual students to mediate ‘learning-by-teaching’.