Project Details

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ChatBot to support the practice of active listening skills

Company: RERC on AAC

Major(s):
Primary: CMPSC
Secondary: CMPEN

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: NO

This project will leverage currently available LLMs (Large Language Models) to create a chatbot for pre-service teachers to practice communication with parents using the LAFF “active listening” strategy. Active listening is the process of paying close attention to what someone is saying, and demonstrating understanding by reflecting back what is heard, asking clarifying questions, and summarizing understanding of the speaker’s message. The LAFF active listening strategy (McNaughton et al., 2008) is a research supported approach to a more positive communication experience for parents and education professionals. This chatbot will be created as an H5P plugin for use within Moodle LMS modules. The LLM will require background information but the team will help determine what information is required for “realistic” interactions via a text interface. Background information will be entered into the LLM to provide the foundation for the interaction , and will include a biography of the parent, the child, and the parent’s concern about the child. The chatbot should leverage the LLM to identify which steps of the LAFF strategy (e.g., Listen and communicate empathy, Ask questions, etc) are used by the “professional” during the interaction, and provide a report on which steps have been included/not included. It would be great if the chatbot can also leverage the LLM to provide opportunities for the “professional” to practice the use of the strategy with parents in different “moods” ( e.g., reluctant to answer questions, angry and confrontational, etc). The final plugin for the moodle LMS should include a professional looking UI, a method to switch between multiple stored situations (i.e., different “parents” and child situations) and return necessary grade information on the use of the LAFF strategy to the Moodle LMS.