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1. "Clicking some of the silly options": Exploring Player Motivation in Static and Dynamic Educational Interactive Narratives

   Hwang, Daeun; Shields, Samuel; Calderwood, Alex; Johnson-Bey, Shi; Mateas, Michael; Wardrip-Fruin, Noah; Melcer, Edward F (April 2025, CHI 2025 Workshop on Augmented Educators and AI)

   Motivation is an important factor underlying successful learning. Previous research has demonstrated the positive effects that static interactive narrative games can have on motivation. Concurrently, advances in AI have made dynamic and adaptive approaches to interactive narrative increasingly accessible. However, limited work has explored the impact that dynamic narratives can have on learner motivation. In this paper, we compare two versions of Academical, a choice-based educational interactive narrative game about research ethics. One version employs a traditional hand-authored branching plot (i.e., static narrative) while the other dynamically sequences plots during play (i.e., dynamic narrative). Results highlight the importance of responsive content and a variety of choices for player engagement, while also illustrating the challenge of balancing pedagogical goals with the dynamic aspects of narrative. We also discuss design implications that arise from these findings. Ultimately, this work provides initial steps to illuminate the emerging potential of AI-driven dynamic narrative in educational games. 

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2. Complex pathways within nested systems: Exploring approaches to centering equity in peer review

   https://doi.org/10.1002/sce.21732  

   Olitsky, Stacy (September 2022, Science Education)

   In this essay, I explore some of the insights provided in a set of three manuscripts that focus on centering equity in peer review, authored by Bancroft, Ryoo and Miles, Nkrumah and Mutegi, and Marshall and Salter. I consider various aspects of their arguments, highlighting implications for the procedures and norms of journals and funding organizations and questions for further consideration. Drawing on their findings and analyses, I discuss various recommendations, such as the need to change the rules and norms of peer review to be more equitable, to ensure that reviews are free from race, ethnicity, gender, and other kinds of identity-related biases, to work towards equitable distribution of the resources, such as advising, mentoring, and valuable feedback, that support fair reviewing, and to establish criteria and rubrics that support research that is conducted in collaboration with communities marginalized in science education. In addition, I raise issues for further consideration, including the evolving relationship between “equity” and “merit” with regard to peer review and the need for centering equity in ways that allow for discussion, debate, and development of the field. 

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3. Projecting Characters' Knowledge from Utterances in Narratives

   Soubki, A; Paige, A; Murzaku, J; Rambo, O; Brennan, S E (March 2025, AAAI)

   When reading narratives, human readers rely on their Theory of Mind (ToM) to infer not only what the characters know from their utterances, but also whether characters are likely to share common ground. As in human conversation, such decisions are not infallible but probabilistic, based on the evidence available in the narrative. By responding on a scale (rather than Yes/No), humans can indicate commitment to their inferences about what characters know (ToM). We use two prompting approaches to explore (i) how well LLM judgments align with human judgments, and (ii) how well LLMs infer the author’s intent from utterances intended to project knowledge in narratives. 

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4. Toward New Ecologies of Cyberphysical Representational Forms, Scales, and Interaction Modalities

   https://doi.org/10.1145/3294109.3302960  

   G. de Siqueira, Alexandre (January 2019, Proc. of ACM TEI 2019)

   Research on tangible user interfaces commonly focuses on tangible interfaces acting alone or in comparison with multi-touch or graphical interfaces. In contrast, hybrid approaches can be seen as the norm for established "mainstream'' interaction paradigms. In my work, I propose interfaces that support complementary interaction modalities, representational forms and scales, toward hybrid systems which are more legible and actionable than any strategy considered separately. I describe systems involving dial-like tangibles, which are passive and active, and systems combining interaction modalities such as tangible and multi-touch, and tangible and VR interaction. I briefly describe some of the planned and performed evaluations, and draw lessons from an already completed study involving a computationally-mediated scientific poster platform with content developed by undergraduate students. 

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5. Toward New Ecologies of Cyberphysical Representational Forms, Scales, and Interaction Modalities

   https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1145/3294109.3302960  

   Siqueira, Alexandre (January 2019, Proc. of ACM TEI)

   null (Ed.)

   Research on tangible user interfaces commonly focuses on tangible interfaces acting alone or in comparison with multitouch or graphical interfaces. In contrast, hybrid approaches can be seen as the norm for established “mainstream” interaction paradigms. In my work, I propose interfaces that support complementary interaction modalities, representational forms and scales, toward hybrid systems which are more legible and actionable than any strategy considered separately. I describe systems involving dial-like tangibles, which are passive and active, and systems combining interaction modalities such as tangible and multi-touch, and tangible and VR interaction. I briefly describe some of the planned and performed evaluations, and draw lessons from an already completed study involving a computationally-mediated scientific poster platform with content developed by undergraduate students. 

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