Page 15 - 高中英语小题狂做·选择性必修第四册·RJ

UNIT 1 SCIENCE FICTION 9

B

Engineering researchers at the University of Waterloo are successfully using a robot to help keep

children with learning disabilities focused on their work. This was one of the key results in a new study

that also found both the youngsters and their instructors valued the positive classroom contributions made

by the robot.

“Overall, the findings demonstrate that the robot has a positive effect on students,” said Dr Kerstin

Dautenhahn, a professor of electrical and computer engineering.

Educators have in recent years explored the use of social robots to help students learn, but most

often, their research has focused on children with autism(孤独症). As a result, little work has been done

on the use of socially assistive robots for students with learning disabilities.

Along with two other Waterloo engineering researchers and three experts from the Learning

Disabilities Society in Vancouver, Dautenhahn decided to change this, conducting a series of tests with a

small humanoid(仿人的) robot called QTrobot.

Dautenhahn said the robot s ability to perform gestures using its head and hands, accompanied by its

speech and facial features, makes it very suitable for children with learning disabilities.

Building on promising earlier research, the researchers divided 16 students with learning disabilities

into two groups. In one group, students worked one-on-one with an instructor only. In the other group, the

students worked one-on-one with an instructor and a QTrobot. In the latter group, the instructor used a

tablet to direct the robot, which then autonomously performed various activities using its speech and

gestures. While the instructor controlled the sessions, the robot took over at certain times to lead the

students.

Besides introducing the session, the robot set goals and provided self-regulating strategies, if

necessary. If the learning process was getting off-track, the robot used strategies such as games, riddles

and physical movements to redirect the students back to the task.

“Students who worked with the robot,” Dautenhahn said, “were generally more engaged with their tasks

and could complete their tasks at a higher rate compared to the students who weren t assisted by a robot. ”
[2023 河北保定定州二中月考]

( ) 1. What can we know about Dautenhahn s research?

A. It seeks to provide a treatment for autism.

B. It attempts to replace teachers with robots in teaching.

C. It intends to educate students to be creative and productive.

D. It studies the effects of robots on students with learning disabilities.

( ) 2. What is the sixth paragraph mainly about?

A. The role the robot played.

B. The process of the research.

C. The outcomes of the two groups.

D. The range of the participants involved.