New Perspectives on Affect and Learning Technologies

This monograph integrates theoretical perspectives on affect and learning with recent research in affective computing with an emphasis on building new learning technologies. The "new perspectives" come from the intersection of several research themes: -Basic research on emotion, cognition, and motivation applied to learning environments -Pedagogical and motivational strategies that are sensitive to affective and cognitive processes -Multimodal Human Computer Interfaces, with a focus on affect recognition and synthesis -Recent advances in affect-sensitive Intelligent Tutoring Systems -Novel methodologies to investigate affect and learning -Neuroscience research on emotions and learning

Of all the differences between human beings and computers, emotion is perhaps the most basic: humans have them and use them; machines do not, except with human help. One of the most promising arenas for human/computer intervention has been in the form of educational technologies that respond to the intersection of affect and cognition that occurs during learning. Synthesizing knowledge across psychology, education, computer science, and related fields, these affect-sensitive learning environments coordinate pedagogy with student emotions to promote optimal learning.

The first full-length treatment of its subject, New Perspectives on Affect and Learning Technologies explores new theoretical perspectives and technological advances concerning the role of affect in learning. Broadening this concept to include related constructs of motivation, engagement, metacognition, and creativity, the book mines a wealth of behavioral, physiological, and linguistic data for a state-of-the-art survey of affective computing in education. This interdisciplinary approach, in turn, adds to the knowledge base on the affective components of students’ learning experience. Chapter authors provide dispatches from all corners of the field, including:

• Current neuroscientific findings on emotion and learning.
• Pedagogical and motivational strategies sensitive to affective and cognitive processes.
• Multimodal human/computer interfaces, with emphasis on affect recognition.
• Innovations in methodologies for investigating affect and learning.
• Design issues in developing affect-aware learning environments.
• Latest advances in intelligent tutoring systems.

New Perspectives on Affect and Learning Technologies deserves a wide audience among researchers in learning technologies, affective computing, human/computer interaction, artificial intelligence in education, and intelligent tutoring systems, as well as the greater educational research and cognitive science communities.