A subsumption-based mobile robot is extended to perform cognitive tasks. Following directions, the robot navigates directly to previously unexplored goals. This robot exploits a novel architecture based on the idea that cognition uses the underlying machinery of interaction, imagining sensations and actions.

Cette recherche porte sur les activités d'aide ordinaire dans deux situations d'enseignement/apprentissage ; la première en face-à-face et la seconde instrumentée par un artefact numérique et asynchrone. L'aide ordinaire est entendue comme étant à la fois le processus et le produit d'ajustement, de modification, de redéfinition d'un objet de connaissance réalisés par et pour les acteurs d'une situation d'enseignement/apprentissage La présente recherche aborde donc l'aide en tant qu'activité interactionnelle, située et instrumentale. En partant d'une ethnographie multi-située de situations d'apprentissage du latin, elle a fait l'objet d'une observation participante d'un cours d'aide à la préparation d'un concours et de la conception d'une ressource numérique d'aide à la remise à niveau en langue latine. Ces deux moments de la recherche ont permis la réalisation d'un corpus composé de collections d'enregistrements audiovisuels de situations réelles d'apprentissage, d'entretiens et de notes ethnographiques. En nous appuyant sur ces données, nous analysons les processus interactionnels et instrumentaux d'aide inhérents à l'apprentissage. Nous en proposons la description de l'organisation, l'analyse des modalités de mobilisations des artefacts physiques et numériques et des interactions entre les apprenants et une ressource numérique d'aide. Enfin, nous préconisons d'articuler la conception de l'aide (dans la constitution de scénarios pédagogiques en ligne) à la prise en compte de la future genèse instrumentale des ressources et artefacts. / This research focuses on ordinary help activities both teaching and learning situations. The first one concerns help in a face-to-face situation, the second in a situation instrumented by a digital and asynchronous artifacts. The ordinary help is viewed as the process and the product of adjustment, modification and redefinition of a knowledge object. The latter is achieved by and to the actors in the situation. This research deals with the help as an interactional, situated and instrumented activity. Build on a multi-sited ethnography, this study was subjected to a participative observation of a Latin university course and to the design of one digital resource to assist Latin-language learning. Both research parts allowed the constitution of a corpus including audio-video records of learning real situation, interviews and ethnographic notes. From these data, I analyze the interactional and instrumented help processes in learning. I consider the interactional organization of help sequences, the conditions of physical and digital artifacts mobilization and interactions between learners and digital help resource. Finally, I suggest articulating the help design (e.g.: in curricula) to the probable future instrumental genesis of resources and artifacts.

The impact of affect on learning and performance has caused many researchers in the field of cognitive psychology to acknowledge the value of motivationally supportive instruction. Goal orientation, which refers to the perceptions and behaviors of the learner in achievement situations, has been the most predominant theory in learning motivation. However, research suggests multiple components are responsible for affecting student cognitive engagement. The traditional framework distinguishes individuals who are self-motivated to master challenging tasks from those who are motivated to earn favorable judgments of performance as intrinsic and extrinsic learners, respectively. In addition, learners may be further categorized by an eagerness to ensure a positive outcome or by their vigilance in avoiding negative outcomes. As such, my research explores how these motivational categories can be utilized to construct a more robust instructional model. The objective of this research is to evaluate the effectiveness of adaptive remediation strategies on motivation and learning performance. Research suggests the cost of integrating cognitive tasks with error analysis outweigh the benefits of sparse learning gains. However, further investigation is required to understand how feedback can improve these outcomes. The experiment presented here seeks to evaluate the adaptive instruction of two pedagogical agents embedded within two separate versions of the Virtual BNI Trainer. The basic coach uses a model of the learner's experience level to determine an appropriate level of elaboration required during remediation. In contrast, the motivationally enhanced coach uses a model of the learner's goal orientation to construct feedback that appeals to their natural disposition. A controlled experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of adaptive instruction on student self-efficacy, engagement, and learning performance in the Virtual BNI Training Environment. The results of this experiment are used to establish guidelines for integrating goal orientation, error analysis, and feedback within a virtual coach, to improve motivation and learning performance. In addition, these findings also indicate areas for future research.