Recent advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI) offer new opportunities for early literacy instruction, yet the potential of AI to enhance early reading performance and provide pedagogical support remains under explored, particularly in kindergarten pupils. This research focused on how an AI-based conversational agent, supports foundational decoding skills and pedagogical functions in kindergarten pupils (aged 5-6). Across two complementary studies, 71 children completed AI-based versus traditional instruction, while 65 children's interactions with the chatbot were further analyzed to identify emerging pedagogical functions. Results indicate that AI-based instruction can support differentiated learning, particularly benefiting low-performing pupils, who showed larger gains in letter identification, recognition, and phonological awareness compared to traditional instruction. High-performing pupils benefited similarly across modalities. Analysis of pupils' interactions with the AI chatbot revealed clear cognitive support and diagnostic functions, while differentiation was observed through adaptive feedback, although performance gaps were not fully reduced. In contrast, regulatory functions were minimal, priming was not demonstrated and engagement was initially high but decreased as task complexity increased. Pupils' attitudes toward AI were generally positive but divided between AI and teacher-led activities. These findings suggest that AI-driven conversational agents can reinforce teachers' pedagogical roles by providing adaptive, targeted support for early decoding while highlighting the need for future systems to better address socio-emotional and metacognitive processes.

Authors:
Camille Pistre, Université Paris Est Créteil, France
Ugo Ballenghein, Université Paris Est Créteil, France
Xavier Aparicio, Université Paris Est Créteil, France

About the Presenter(s)
Camille Pistre’s research focuses on the cognitive and pedagogical impacts of artificial intelligence on reading acquisition.

Connect on Linkedin
https://www.linkedin.com/in/camille-pistre-60bb13236/

See this presentation on the full schedule – Monday Schedule

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