Participatory Design and Evaluation of a Social Robot for Supporting Self-Regulated Learning in After-School Homework Sessions

Praxis der Forschung (PdF) or Bachelor/Master thesis, Winter Semester 2026/27

Supervisors: M.Sc. Romain Maure (IAR-SARAI), Dr. Irina Rudenko (IAR-SARAI), Dr. Utku Norman (ITAS)

Project Description:

The partner school with which we are collaborating (Markgrafen Gymnasium, in Durlach) organizes regular after-school homework supervision sessions. As part of these sessions, younger children are divided in several classrooms and are supported in doing their homework by older peers. A teacher takes care of monitoring and supervising the sessions. Our partner school is interested in the use of social robots to support the supervision and monitoring of these homework sessions. More specifically, the robot should be able to track children’s attendance and check the successful completion of their homework. To this extent, a first robot prototype has been built (see figure below) and is soon going to be showcased to our partner school.

 

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Core Project Goals:

The project has three main goals:

  1. Refine the existing prototype to make sure that it successfully meets all the stakeholders’ needs and requirements (younger children, older children, teaching staff).
  2. Design the human-robot interaction, allowing the social robot to assist teachers and support children in completing their homework independently.
  3. Deploy the refined system in the school on a long-term basis and evaluate its effectiveness in supporting all the stakeholders.

Research Questions:

  • What are the key design requirements for the long-term use of social robots in after-school homework sessions in middle school?
  • How do different stakeholder groups experience robot-monitored after-school homework sessions?
  • How does interaction with a social robot relate to students’ self-regulation and autonomy during after-school homework sessions?

Research Activities:

Students will contribute to:

  • Participatory design of a social robot supporting after-school homework sessions.
  • Classroom deployment and user studies with children and teachers.
  • Qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis.
  • Scientific dissemination through reports, presentations, and possibly publications.

Prerequisites:

  • Mandatory: Fluent in German to interact with all the stakeholders. Good English proficiency.
  • Existing experience on computer-aided design (CAD) and 3D printing is a plus.
  • Existing experience on embedded computer (Raspberry Pi) programming is a plus.

Contact: M.Sc. Romain Maure (romain.maure∂kit.edu), Dr. Irina Rudenko (irina.rudenko∂kit.edu), and Dr. Utku Norman (norman∂kit.edu).

Starting date: As soon as possible.