Betty's Brain is a computer-based learning environment that capitalizes on the social aspects of learning. In Betty's Brain, students instruct a character called a Teachable Agent (TA) which can reason based on how it is taught. Two studies demonstrate the "protege effect": students make greater effort to learn for their TAs than they do…

This study compared interaction with a computer vs. observation as learning situations for low and high ability student's learning of spatial visualization and geometric transformations. Thirty-two fifth grade boys took the Differential Aptitude Test, Space Relations Subset (DAT), and then participated in the experiment. Pre-test and post-test…